Mark S. Diamond, a former subprime mortgage broker in Chicago, who has been sued for fraud by the Federal Trade Commission and the Illinois attorney general, faces a federal lawsuit filed in June by seniors who claim that he sold them reverse mortgages and either pocketed their loan amounts or promised to put the proceeds toward home repairs that never materialized. A lawyer for Mr. Diamond did not return calls for comment. Some solicitations reviewed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau present reverse mortgages as “free money” or mistakenly tell seniors that they could never lose their home. One Maryland reverse mortgage lender tells seniors that they can put the proceeds toward a vacation: “Just because you’re retired doesn’t mean you don’t need a vacation every now and then.” Last year, the Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks issued cease-and-desist orders to a handful of reverse mortgage firms for operating without a license. In its advertising, one of those mortgage brokers falsely promised seniors “you won’t lose your home.”

马克S戴蒙德，曾是芝加哥的一位次级按揭经理，现已被联邦商务委员会和伊利诺斯总检察长起诉欺诈。他面临着6月立案的一桩联邦诉讼。受骗老人们指控他骗售次级贷款、隐瞒贷款金额或捏造子午须有的房屋维修开支。戴蒙德的律师尚未对讯问做出回复。金融消费保护局透露，按揭经理通常会误导老人将按揭说成是“免费贷款”或者不会因此失去房屋。马里兰的一位反向按揭经理曾对老人说，可将贷款用于独家休闲，“虽然您们已经退休了，但这并不意味着你们不需要度假。”去年，马里兰州银行专员关停了多家无牌经营的反向按揭公司。其中有家公司居然在广告中，郑重承诺：“您不会因此失去房屋。”

Officials at the bureau, which issued a report on the industry in June, said they heard from a number of seniors who claimed that lenders encouraged them to make their older spouses the sole borrower on the loan. The brokers earn more money when they make larger loans with the older spouse as the only borrower.

保护局官员说，6月发布一份行业报告显示，不少老人声称按揭机构鼓励以夫妻二人中年龄较大者名义单独办理贷款。如果能够说服夫妻中较老者办理更大金额贷款，按揭经理将因此获得更多提成。

Some surviving spouses complained that brokers told them they could be added later, but they were not. The bureau says those seniors are at greater risk of losing their homes. The complaints, according to elder-care advocates and federal officials, have been rising during the past year, although there are no exact numbers.

有些健在的夫妻投诉，按揭经纪并未履行可以后加上配偶名字的承诺。保护局认为这些老人会面临更大的风险，那就是失去家园。据志愿律师和联邦官员说，虽然尚无具体数值，但这这些投诉在过于一年里明显增加。

Linda McMahon, a 65-year-old widow, watched helplessly as the locks were changed on her home in St. Croix Falls, Wis., last month. She said that in 2005, when her husband was 82 and she was 58, a mortgage broker from Wells Fargo promised her that she could add her name to the mortgage once she turned 62. That never happened because that year, in 2009, she didn’t have time to deal with it as her husband’s health quickly deteriorated and he died from a heart condition, she said. Soon, she was unable to pay any of the property taxes and insurance. “I am devastated,” said Ms. McMahon, who is retired, living on Social Security income and now renting an apartment.

65岁的寡妇琳达麦克马洪，无助地望着位于威斯康星州圣克罗伊瀑布的家，大门上个月已经被换新锁。2005年，她的丈夫82岁，她58岁，当时有位富国银行的按揭经理，承诺她可以在62岁的时候把名字加进按揭合同。这个承诺重未兑现。2009年，丈夫病情突然恶化并死于心脏病，她根本无法顾及这件事。接着，她也很快无法支付房产税和保险。“我感觉像天塌了一样糟糕”，麦克马洪夫人说。现在她已经退休，靠着社保度日，租住在一间公寓里。

A spokeswoman for the bank declined to comment. Reverse mortgages also have troublesome incentive structures that might encourage brokers to steer seniors toward lump-sum loans, which carry a fixed interest rate, rather than a line of credit with a variable interest rate, the bureau found. In a lump sum arrangement, the interest charges are added each month, and over time the total debt owed can far surpass the original loan.

富国银行的发言人拒绝就此作出回复。保护局发现：反向按揭本身还存在着一些产品结构缺陷，容易驱使按揭经理怂恿老人一次性提取贷款。因为这样执行的是一个固定利率，而不是授信额度的浮动利率。按照一次性提取来算，应付利息每个月递增，结果应偿债务远远超出贷款本金。

Brokers earn higher fees on these loans and even more money when they sell the loans into the secondary market, where they can get rates nearly double those for variable loans, according to rate sheets obtained by the consumer bureau.

按揭经理从这些贷款上面获得更高提成，根据消费保护局获得利率表显示，他们甚至能从按揭二级市场里赚到更多的佣金，所获得的利率接近浮动利率的两倍。

Some 70 percent of reverse mortgages are taken in lump sums, up from 3 percent in 2008, according to the bureau. When seniors use the money to pay off other debts, especially right before retirement or early into it, that can leave them with scarce resources to pay their property taxes and insurance.

现在，70%的反向按揭是一次性提取的，而在2008年这个比例仅有3%。当这些老人在刚退休或退休不久后，已经用掉这笔钱偿还其他债务，他们就很难再支付房产税和保险费用。

Ms. Forde, who lives in fear of losing her San Bernardino home, said she could not afford to save her house by paying the full $293,000 debt. Now, she said, she spends much of her day standing guard by the window. Her home is already in foreclosure proceedings. With a wavering voice, she said: “I have nowhere to go.”

福德夫人，生活在恐惧中，担心失去圣地亚哥的家。她说自己根本无法全额支付293000美元赎回房屋。现在，她每天能做的只有守在窗前。赖以为生的房屋已经进入取消赎回权程序。她颤抖地说：“我现在真的别无去处了。”