An award-winning film about financial fraud will premier this week in Frederick. "Stealing Trust" will be shown on Wednesday, Sept. 19th at 7:00 PM at the Bernard Brown Community Center at 629 North Market Street.

The showing of this film is sponsored by the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, the Frederick Community Action Agency, the Frederick County Legal Aid Society the Young Democrats of Frederick County.

A panel discussion will follow the showing of the movie.

MCRC Executive Director Marceline White says the "stars" of this movie are families who have been impacted by the foreclosure crisis and other financial difficulties, since the housing bubble burst in 2008, and led to one of the worst financial crisis in 70 years. "What we really wanted to do was capture the voices throughout the state that have been struggling with different kinds economic burdens, and tell their own stories," she says. "Some of the stories end up happily. There's some happy endings in some of the stories. And there's some that didn't work out."

MCRC says the film offers a revealing look at the kinds of financial fraud that caused the crisis. But it also says consumers need to be aware of what they're getting into before they sign any contracts or agreements. "Yes, consumers need to be educated and they need to understand what the mortgages mean and what the different types of mortgages are," White says. "But the other thing we say, and this is clear from the media and from the National Mortgage Settlement, is that a lot of these mortgages were exotic, toxic loans. They were designed to fail. And they weren't designed to keep people in their houses for 30 years.

White also says "Breaking Trust" will show that there are resources for families who are in trouble financially, especially those who are in danger of losing their homes. "Right now, there are a number of places for families if they're afraid they're going to lose their home. And they can get assistance that's free."
MCRC says "Stealing Trust" won the prestigious Community Engagement Film Award from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition in April, 2012. It was featured on Maryland Public Television and has won enthusiastic responses from audience in Central Maryland at more than 15 screenings over the past 18 months, according to MCRC.