By RIDDHI TRIVEDI-ST. CLAIR, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Velma Vardiman had to quit her job as an administrative assistant in January 2005 after being diagnosed with cancer late in 2004. Soon, the bills piled up, and she missed a payment on her home loan.

Desperate, she refinanced her mortgage to get a lower monthly payment. But Vardiman’s monthly payment is $163 higher than before, and she faces an imminent increase. She is suing the mortgage broker, claiming she is a victim of predatory lending.

Vardiman is black, a fact that could be significant. One large national study - which has been replicated in other smaller studies - concludes that blacks and nonwhite Latinos are more likely than whites to be victims of predatory lending. And they’re more likely to be steered into high-risk, high-interest subprime mortgages.

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