Ex-Agent Charged w/ Theft By False Representation In Contract For Deed Home Sale; Collected Cash From Would-Be Buyer, Failed To Pay Pre-Existing Loan

In Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Kenosha News reports:

• Arraignment has been set for April 14 for a former real estate salesman accused of embezzlement and theft. Michael H. Granger, 50, appeared Wednesday in Kenosha County Circuit Court for his two felony files — one for allegedly pocketing a $12,000 commission, the other for allegedly taking more than $7,800 from a would-be home buyer, according to criminal complaints.

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• In the theft case, the charges stem from an August 2008 land contract [aka "contract for deed" or an “installment sale agreement”] meant to purchase a $140,000 property [...] in Kenosha. The would-be buyer said she wrote Granger seven checks for what she believed were mortgage payments and other fees. All the checks were cashed. But, she later learned, the land contract was never filed and the home went into foreclosure in February 2009.

• When the woman asked Granger about the money she gave him, she reported that he said it was “none of her business” and it was spent, a criminal complaint says. The homeowner said Granger told him the land contract was needed because the buyer had trouble getting financing. He said he was never presented any paperwork until February 2009, when he said Granger met him at a bar, scrawled out a statement and had him sign it. The broker for whom Granger worked at the time confirmed that the land contract had not been filed; the incomplete contract was later found in Granger’s desk. Granger faces two felonies for theft by false representation for the deal.

Source: Former real estate salesman arraigned (Granger facing embezzlement, theft charges).