Family's Recently Purchased Home Emptied By Property Removal Service

April 29, 2010— -- The Rought family has been waiting for over a year for their furniture to be returned. They would like their lawn ornaments back, too.

The Michigan family has finally turned to the Federal courts, filing a complaint this week against Deutsche Bank National Trust after the home they purchased last year was allegedly cleaned out several times by a property removal service.

"It is really the Wild West of the foreclosure industry right now. It's almost like they are vultures when they think a property is foreclosed upon," said Joseph deMello, the lawyer for Ricky and Sherry Rought.

The Roughts paid $14,000 in cash for the home in Brohman, Mich., on Jan. 27, 2009, which they were planning on fixing up for their 22-year-old daughter, who was attending Ferris State College. They began making repairs, moving in furniture, installing light fixtures, and decorating the lawn.

The Roughts noticed something was wrong when they pulled up to their house on Aug. 9 to continue renovation and saw that all the lawn ornaments were missing, according to deMello.

When they tried to enter the house, they found that the locks had been changed and that everything inside was gone, deMello told ABC News.

The Roughts initially thought that they had been robbed. They contacted the Michigan State Police, but soon discovered that a property removal company, Field Asset Services, had entered their home and had taken everything, deMello charges in the complaint.

"They took an antique cabinet, and heirloom table that belonged to Mr. Rought's parents that he wanted to give to his daughter, a lawn mower tractor, tools, chairs, new lighting fixtures," the lawyer said. Also taken was furniture and specialized cabinets.

The couple contacted Field Asset Services and ordered the company to stay off their property, but the family got no response and Field Asset Services entered the home two more times and took away replacement furniture as well as the lock box from their front door, the court papers claim.

The Rought family now says they will not move back into their home for fear that it may be broken into again.

"Not only have their possessions been stolen, but also their sense of security, and we are now in the process of regaining respect and dignity for property rights," says deMello.

The home was purchased from Deutsche Bank National Trust Company as trustee of Ameriquest Mortgage Securities.

"Deutsche Bank which no longer had any legal right, title, or interest in the property, forcibly broke into the house, changed the locks on the doors and trashed out all the Rought's personal possessions that were in the house and on the property," said deMello who has handled the case along with Carlin Phillips.

The Rought's possessions have not yet been returned.

"We just couldn't understand, because we didn't have a mortgage, how this could happen. I've never experienced anything like this before. I feel violated and it's wrong," Sherry Rought told ABC's affiliate WZZM.