Victim Of Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Scam Still Waiting For Installment Restitution Payments As County Falls Short In Enforcing Court Order

In Sacramento, California, The Sacramento Bee reports:

• When he walked out of the Sacramento County courthouse nearly a year ago, Telesfor Lucero Jr. thought he'd won the battle. Three years after Lucero lost his North Highlands home through mortgage fraud, the man who defrauded him had entered a no-contest plea. Superior Court Judge Louis Mauro had ordered Timothy Hogue to pay Lucero $30,000 in restitution through the court's installment process, plus 10 percent annually in interest. "I thought, 'Wow, this is great!'" Lucero recalled.

• But a year later, he says he is more victim than victor. "I thought that in a short time I would at least start receiving some sort of payments," Lucero said. To date, he has received only one payment, in March, for $53.12.

• Although he has reason to believe that Hogue, who was under house arrest and on five years' probation, is gainfully employed, Lucero said county employees charged with enforcing the court order have told him their efforts are hampered by staff shortages and budget cuts.(1)

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• Hogue contacted him in 2006, and Lucero agreed to sign his house over to a woman, Kim Roth, who was to assume the payments and lease the house to Lucero with the understanding that he would buy it back when he received his workers' compensation. But Roth didn't make the mortgage payments and sold the title to someone else. The next thing Lucero knew, the three-bedroom house he had owned for 15 years was in foreclosure.(2)

For the story, see Three years after losing home, fraud victim waits for payment.

(1) In at least some jurisdictions, a convicted scammer out of jail on probation is typically required to make court-ordered restitution payments to his/her victim as a condition of probation. Any stiffing of the victim out of these payments should subject the convicted scammer to a revocation of his probation, and should be enough to get him thrown back into jail and face the prospect of spending the rest of his sentence in the can.

(2) Reportedly, Roth, under court order, coughed up $26,500 to the victim for her role in the ripoff.