Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Sleazy NYC Real Estate Hustler Gets Pinched Again, Accused By Queens DA Of Ripping Off $13K In Tenant Deposits From Prospective Renters; After Arrest, Another Victim Comes Forward Claiming She Was Fleeced Out Of $7K+
In Astoria, Queens, WPIX-TV Channel 11 reports:
Phivos Ioannou, a notorious real estate agent from Astoria First Realty in Queens, is in trouble with the law again.
PIX11 has reported on him before. A few years ago he served federal prison time for identity theft and was stripped of his real estate license. But he continued hustling would-be renters after getting out of prison.
Last May we reported on a young couple, Miguel and Erica, who put $5,000 down for rent and security after Phivos’ son, Dino, showed them a vacant apartment. But it turned out that many others had been shown the same apartment. Miguel and Erica did not get the apartment, or their deposit back. However, after they contacted PIX11, we confronted Phivos and Dino and the realtors agreed to return the $5,000.
Recently, Phivos was arrested after allegedly ripping off a number of other renters from whom he took a combined $13,000 in fees for an apartment in a brand new building on Astoria Boulevard. Each of them was promised the apartment after they paid first and last month’s rent and a broker’s fee. However, none of them got the promised lease or their money back.
As a result, the Queens district attorney investigated Ioannou and he was arraigned on three counts of grand larceny in the third degree and three counts of scheme to defraud in the first degree. Bail was set at $15,000.
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While that case moves along, another victim has recently come forward. Engeel Zeldon says she gave Phiovs Ioannou $7,200 in cash to rent an apartment on 40th Avenue in Astoria.
Zeldon, the single mother of two children, paid $2,400 each for first and last month’s rent and $2,400 for the broker’s fee. Phivos told her the landlord was out of town in Las Vegas and when he returned a few days later, he would sign the lease and give her the key. But after those few days passed, and Phivos stopped answering the phone, Zeldon went to the office of Astoria First Realty and found it was closed down.
The city marshall had evicted Ioannou for allegedly owing six months rent to the landlord.
Ioannou texted Zeldon, promising to return her money in two days. He never did and she has now added her name to the list of victims on file with the Queens D.A. She and her two daughters are now living temporarily in the Ramada in Astoria, looking for another apartment, while Phivos Ioannou sits in a jail cell.
CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'
The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
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