Scam Artist Gets 20 Years For Pocketing $1M In Deposits In Fake Home Sales

In Polk County, Florida, The Lakeland Ledger reports:

• A Lakeland man and his wife have been convicted of organized fraud and conspiracy to commit racketeering in a real estate scam that defrauded victims out of more than $1 million, the state Attorney General's Office has announced. Thomas Salvati, 49, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and Dawn Salvati, 39, was sentenced to three years.

• While in Florida prison serving a previous sentence for organized fraud, Thomas Salvati worked through his wife to form a corporation called Inves4us through which the couple offered pre-foreclosure properties they did not own. They created fake purchase contracts for their victims to sign and then collected deposits totaling more than $1 million from potential buyers, according to a news release from the Attorney General's Office.

For more, see:

• Couple Sentenced in Property Fraud Scheme (Thomas and Dawn Salvati took more than $1 million in fake housing deals),
• Florida Attorney General News Release: Real Estate Scam Artist and Wife Receive Prison Sentences (Couple convicted of $1 million real estate scam that victimized numerous individuals throughout the state).