Ohio Mortgage Fraud Indictments Involved Two Cases Of Equity Skimming, Leaving "Rent To Own" Tenants With Homes in Foreclosure
In the recent mortgage fraud indictments in Cuyahoga County, Ohio involving four homes in the city of Solon, at least two of the cases involved an alleged combination of a straw buyer fraud coupled with a "lease / option" or "lease / purchase" scam.
In one case ("the third Solon case"), accused straw buyer Estelle Jackson, 63, of Bedford, fraudulently bought a house by lying about her employment and income. Once title was in her name, she allowed Frederick Watkins, a licensed mortgage broker at Premier Funding of Ohio, Inc. to lease with the option to buy this property to unsuspecting renters who paid Watkins approximately $27,000 before they realized it was a scam. These unsuspecting renters thought their payments were sent to the lender to pay the new mortgage loan. Watkins kept this money and he never paid the mortgage in Jackson's name. Jackson received $31,000 for her role as straw buyer.
In another case ("the fourth Solon case"), Ogbonnaya Edeh, 49, of Cleveland, fraudulently obtained an $850,000 loan in the purchase of a home. He never made a down payment, never saw the inside of the house before the purchase, and never lived in it. He lied about his employment and income, and received $31,000 for his role in the scam.
After Edeh purchased this house, he allowed Stephen Holman and Jeffrey Brown of Buckeye Lending, Inc. to lease the home to a tenant on what appears to have been a "lease-to-own" basis. The tenant made rent payments that were intended to pay the new mortgage and these payments were to count toward buying the home. However, the tenant lost his $6,000 initial down payment and $22,600 in lease payments before realizing it was a scam. Neither Brown nor Holman applied any of the rent money towards the mortgage payments.
Both of these homes are currently in foreclosure. For more, see Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Press Release - Four Mortgage Fraud Cases Indicted - Solon.
Go here for other posts on "rent to own" scams.
For other stories on tenants unknowingly renting homes in foreclosure, go here, or here, or here. rent to own lease purchase option scams zebra unwittingly equity skimming beta
In one case ("the third Solon case"), accused straw buyer Estelle Jackson, 63, of Bedford, fraudulently bought a house by lying about her employment and income. Once title was in her name, she allowed Frederick Watkins, a licensed mortgage broker at Premier Funding of Ohio, Inc. to lease with the option to buy this property to unsuspecting renters who paid Watkins approximately $27,000 before they realized it was a scam. These unsuspecting renters thought their payments were sent to the lender to pay the new mortgage loan. Watkins kept this money and he never paid the mortgage in Jackson's name. Jackson received $31,000 for her role as straw buyer.
In another case ("the fourth Solon case"), Ogbonnaya Edeh, 49, of Cleveland, fraudulently obtained an $850,000 loan in the purchase of a home. He never made a down payment, never saw the inside of the house before the purchase, and never lived in it. He lied about his employment and income, and received $31,000 for his role in the scam.
After Edeh purchased this house, he allowed Stephen Holman and Jeffrey Brown of Buckeye Lending, Inc. to lease the home to a tenant on what appears to have been a "lease-to-own" basis. The tenant made rent payments that were intended to pay the new mortgage and these payments were to count toward buying the home. However, the tenant lost his $6,000 initial down payment and $22,600 in lease payments before realizing it was a scam. Neither Brown nor Holman applied any of the rent money towards the mortgage payments.
Both of these homes are currently in foreclosure. For more, see Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Press Release - Four Mortgage Fraud Cases Indicted - Solon.
Go here for other posts on "rent to own" scams.
For other stories on tenants unknowingly renting homes in foreclosure, go here, or here, or here. rent to own lease purchase option scams zebra unwittingly equity skimming beta
posted by Home Equity Theft Reporter at 8:17 AM
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