Dozens Fleeced Out Of Their Downpayment Money In San Antonio Real Estate Financing Theft; Victims Entered Into Unconventional Transactions Without Reputable Attorneys, Escrow/Title Agents To Hold Cash

In San Antonio, Texas, KENS-TV Channel 5 reports:

• Police say dozens of people claim they've lost thousands of dollars, money they had saved to make down payments on their homes.
  
  Kyle and Karen McGlotten said they found the perfect investment property with the help of Century 21 Northside. To finance it, the McGlottens said their real estate agent introduced them to Ray Stanziola from TG Wealth, with whom they filled out an application for a loan.
  
  The McGlottens said Stanziola asked them for cashier's checks for $15,000, a 10 percent down payment on the house made out to a company called Infinite Properties.
  
  "Up until that time, the only company that we knew about was TG Wealth, so we thought they were the only one who was giving us the loan. We didn't know about Infinite Properties until that day," Karen McGlotten said.
  
  That's when the McGlottens said the problems started. They said the funding never came through, and the sellers on that investment property decided to go with a different buyer.
  
  The McGlottens said they then tried to track down Ray Stanziola from TG Wealth to get a refund on their deposit, but they said Stanziola told them he didn't know what happened to their money.
  
  The McGlottens said that's when he stopped answering their phone calls.
  
  Kyle McGlotten said he was able to get someone from Infinite Properties in McAllen on the phone with him and he said he would give him his money back. They then went back to Century 21 Northside and that's when they said they found out they weren't the only ones complaining about Infinite Properties.
  
  The manager of Century 21 told KENS 5's Eyewitness Wants to Know over the phone that at least six other clients gave money to Infinite Properties between May and August, and that money disappeared.
  
  One of those clients is Steve Thacher, who says he wired $150,000 -- his life savings -- to Infinite Properties, and they never gave the money to the seller.(1)
  
  "I'm very worried to lose the house," he said. "My kids, they're all sad. My fiancee is sad. We're heartbroken. That was my dream house."
  
  Eyewitness Wants to Know met with Thacher's real estate agent to find out what happened. The agent said his office did their due diligence. They thought Infinite Properties had been pre-approved for a $10 million loan.

For more, see Dozens tell police they've lost thousands in mortgage fraud scandal.

---------------------

(1) See Man says he lost $150K in home-buying nightmare (Steve Thatcher may have to leave his dream home):

• A man says he's out $150,000 and fears he may soon be forced out of his dream home in Devine. "They need to get caught," Steve Thatcher said.
  
  Thatcher is referring to whoever has the thousands of dollars he wired as a down payment on the house he's currently living in. The seller allowed him to rent the home during the buying process.
  
  "To me, this was going to be my first home that I was buying for my family, my kids. My dream home," Thatcher said.
  
  When efforts by Thatcher's Realtor to finance traditionally failed, the pair were referred by a local mortgage broker to Infinite Properties, a company that is allegedly in McAllen in the Rio Grande Valley.
  
  Thatcher said the down payment he sent the company apparently never made it to the seller. "We've all been victimized. My heart goes out more to the homeowner," Joseph Cuellar, Thatcher's Realtor, said.
  
  Cuellar said his real estate office is aware of 10 clients who allegedly lost money to Infinite Properties. KSAT-12 News called several phone numbers given to us for the company but couldn't reach anyone.
  
  "They need to go to jail, prison, and I hope they do," Thatcher said.
  
  Thatcher's fiance filed a report with the Devine Police Department. Officers referred them to the San Antonio Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  
  Thatcher is looking for legal representation. In the meantime, he's renting the Devine home again.