Sunday, February 28, 2010

El Paso Man Accused Of Sale/Rental Of Homes To Would-Be Buyers Without Paying Off Existing Mortgages; One Victim Loses Home, Another Faces The Boot

In El Paso, Texas, KFOX-TV Channel 14 reports:
  • An arrest warrant is issued for the owner of a local mortgage company after allegedly defrauding two women on their payments. Maria Martinez is being evicted from her Lower Valley home [...]. She claims she was defrauded by Solar of El Paso Inc. She says the company told her to make her mortgage payments to Kenneth Daniel, the owner. "I would deposit the payment into Kenneth Daniel's account," Martinez said.

  • She said she got a statement from Chase bank earlier this year indicating she was facing foreclosure. The attorney for Solar of El Paso Carlos Quinonez released this written statement: "Maria Martinez breached the terms of her contract with Solar, Inc. On November 1, 2008, Maria Martinez failed to make payment as required under the terms of her contract." But Martinez showed KFOX receipts that prove she was making payments.

  • Last week, the County Attorney's Office filed a deceptive business practice charge on a separate case. The alleged victim Veronica Lara also contracted with Solar of El Paso. Lara said she spent hundreds of dollars fixing up the house she bought from Daniel [...]. Last year, she was evicted from the home. "It's a feeling of desparation. We had to move everything, we didn't know where to go. It was hard on the kids, they lost their rooms. We didn't know how to explain to them."

  • Currently, Daniel has an outstanding warrant for this case. "I don't want this to happen to other people," Martinez said crying. "We are left with no money. And now they're kicking us out of the house," she said.

For the story, see Warrant For Owner Of Local Mortgage Company.