PRESS RELEASE
Colorado Department of Law
Attorney General John W. Suthers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2010
CONTACT
Mike Saccone, Communications Director
303-866-5632
ATTORNEY GENERAL FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST ENGLEWOOD BUSINESS, DENVER
AND CASTLE ROCK MEN FOR THEIR USE OF DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES
DENVER — Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced today that his office has filed a lawsuit
against Assurity Financial Services, one of the company’s managing members, Calvin B. Hamler
(DOB: 6/20/1973), and the company’s former managing member, Troy P. Hamler (DOB: 4/24/1972). The
defendants are suspected of violating the Colorado Consumer Protection Act by using deceptive
advertisements that claimed, among other things, a false affiliation with the U.S. Veterans Administration,
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the homeowners’ lenders.
According to the complaint, filed in Denver District Court, some of the company’s mailers solicited
consumers in several states, including Colorado, to apply for refunds of their mortgage insurance
premiums, escrow accounts, and VA escrow accounts and funding fees. The mailers the defendants
circulated appeared to be from the federal government and even included a Washington, D.C., return
address. These representations allegedly misled consumers into believing that Assurity Financial Services
had the authority to secure refunds for consumers. The mailings also appeared to be official notices,
which they were not. The complaint also alleges that other mailers appeared to come from the
homeowners’ lenders.
The defendants also are suspected of sending homeowners postcards claiming that they could
“reclassify” their home loans into a more favorable loan. The mailers did not disclose that, in fact, the
defendants were asking homeowners to refinance their homes through the company.
According to the complaint, Assurity Financial Services’ mailings gave consumers the false impression of
urgency and a need to act quickly. In some cases, the company’s mailings also allegedly informed
homeowners they were in default when they were not.
Assurity Financial Services had entered into a legally binding agreement with Colorado and Florida in
July 2009 where the company agreed to halt its deceptive direct mailings and pay the states $200,000 in
six payments. Assurity Financial Services did not make its scheduled payment on July 1, 2010.
The Florida Attorney General also has sued Assurity Financial Services and the Hamlers. The states of
Arizona, Washington and Idaho had previously entered into agreements with Assurity Financial Services
and the Hamlers concerning the deceptive content of similar mailings to consumers in their states.
Consumers who believe they have received a misleading or deceptive solicitation from a private company
are encouraged to file a complaint via www.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov/complaint. Consumers also can
file complaints via 1-800-222-4444.