(RALEIGH) -- A California foreclosure assistance company is the latest firm of this type to be banned from offering loan modification and foreclosure assistance services in North Carolina. State Attorney General Roy Cooper announced on Wednesday that Peoples First Financial Inc. must also pay $9,497.50 in refunds to consumers and $25,000 in civil penalties.

“Foreclosure assistance schemes take money out of the economy and push homeowners deeper into debt,” said Cooper. “Homeowners often lose their homes and end up paying thousands of dollars for help that never comes.”

The case surrounding First Financial is the 13th case won by Cooper’s Consumer Protection Division against foreclosure assistance and loan modification scams in the past five years.  It is the second such case this year.