Due to the nature of real estate transactions, scams can be very lucrative. In this $200,000 scam, a New York man scored big. Continue reading
Category Archives: Criminal Activity
Mother Son Duo Scam Team
Most real estate scams we’ve covered on this site focus on an agent or other criminal behaving badly. On some occasions, we see a team or a big group in on the fraud. This is the first time, though, that we’ve seen a mother-son duo scam team. Continue reading
Crime Isn’t Just for the Poor
Residents of high-end neighborhoods are used to feeling safe around their homes and communities, but times may be changing for some who have been targeted by violent crime in the Dallas, Texas area. Continue reading
U.S. to Track Secret Buyers of Luxury Homes
Wealthy individuals around the world are always on the lookout for safe and profitable investment opportunities. Some of those wealthy individuals earned that money through criminal activity, and the United States is on the hunt for tax evaders and criminals using shell companies to act as secret buyers of luxury homes. Continue reading
Team Fraud: Lenders, Agents, and Borrowers Caught in Sting
Real estate fraud happens all the time, but team fraud involving the lender, agent, and borrower is a new one even to this team at Really Rotten Realty. In Kansas City, that exact event took place. Continue reading
Some Crooked Agents Aren’t Agents At All
Just because they look like a real estate agent and act like a real estate agent does not make them an agent. In fact, they may be one of America’s crooked agents, or just someone posing as one. Some fraud victims learned the hard way that John Patrick Ingar was not a landlord, but a man posing as a Realtor to make a quick buck. Continue reading
San Diego Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty
A San Diego real estate investor pleads guilty to five counts in federal court. The investor, 32-year-old Mazen Alzoubi, admitted to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud charges, aggravated identity theft charges, and conspiracy to launder money charges, among others. Continue reading
Ohio Realtor Gets 18 Months in Agent Fraud Case
Rotten real estate agents are a dime a dozen, but usually the unethical actions do not end up with time behind bars. In this agent fraud case, however, the agent ended up right where she belongs: in jail. Continue reading
Real Estate Agents Tricked in Connecticut
This site has hosted its fair share of fraud stories, but the victims are usually outside of the real estate community. Not this time. In this fraud case, real estate agents fell victim to the bad guy. Continue reading
Foreclosed Family Returns
When you buy a foreclosed home, it comes with some risks. You expect some damage and repairs. You expect that there may be some mess to clean up from the former occupants. However, you do not typically expect the former owner to show up at your home, or worse. Continue reading
Mortgage Fraud Leads to Eviction
Refinancing a home should be a straightforward process. You get a new loan, pay off the old loan with the proceeds, and maybe pocket a few dollars in the process.
That is what nursing aide Imogene Hall had in mind when she needed to tap her home equity for $50,000 to help pay bills in between jobs. The home, which she had bought for $80,000, was now worth quite a bit more, so she decided to use the asset to help her get through some tough times in the bottom of the Great Recession. Continue reading
Sex Offenders Lower Property Values
Few people think of themselves as judgmental, but everyone wants to keep their family safe, and that requires some judgments. Megan’s Law, a 1994 law that makes sexual offenders register in a public database, has proven to leave a clear impact on real estate prices. Continue reading
Some Real Estate Agents You Just Don’t Mess With
Most real estate disputes are over ownership and terms for residential and commercial property. However, sometimes other real estate is the subject of a dispute. A real estate investor in was so heated in an argument over a parking space that he shot and killed another man in Tennessee. Continue reading
Some Agents Should Lose their Real Estate License
If someone gets hit with a lock box, the attacker belongs in jail, not on the street selling real estate. However, the Minnesota Department of Commerce decided a seven month suspension was plenty for this dangerous agent.
Not only did agent Bill Bernier, a licensed real estate agent in Minnesota, beat a client with a lock box, he also violated a restraining order and threatened employees of a Saint Paul based inspection company. Continue reading
Are Realtor Lockboxes Safe?
A string of lockbox thefts came to an end when Arkansas police arrested Amanda Tester, an executive at Cooperative Arkansas Realtors Multiple Listings Services. One would hope that a licensed real estate agent would do the right thing, but readers of this site know that not all agents are as trustworthy as they would lead us to believe. Continue reading