DeKalb police have found boxes of sensitive information from a mortgage company carelessly tossed in the trash.
The mortgage company - Ameriquest -- may ring a bell. It closed up shop in Georgia nearly two years ago amid allegations of predatory lending.
So why, now, are hundreds of customers' personal files showing up in a very public place? It is the last place one would expect to find hundreds of confidential mortgage files -- in a dumpster behind a DeKalb County apartment complex.
"They basically contain mortgage applications from Ameriquest customers," said DeKalb Deputy Police Chief Mike Burrows.
Boxes and boxes of tax returns, credit histories and social security numbers. Strange, considering Ameriquest stopped doing business in Georgia nearly two years ago amid allegations of predatory lending.
"We're just trying to find who put them there, why, and have any of the files have been compromised," Burrows said.
"I'm furious, I'm angry, I'm hurt," said former Ameriquest customer Tonya Brown. Brown is part of a class action suit, and she said that this only adds insult to injury.
"Who could be that irresponsible? Who? And I really hope that person; I want to ask how could you be that irresponsible," she said.
DeKalb County investigators still have a number of boxes to go through, but they estimate they've got sensitive information on at least 1,200 people. Brown said she is praying she is not one of them.
"Just the thought of having your information out there is frightening. It's scary," Brown said.
Under federal privacy laws, companies are required to protect the personal information of their clients, both past and present. According to police, there is a local law firm handling this particular case for Ameriquest.
No one returned calls from 11Alive News on Thursday.
