Florida AG Files Civil Suit Against Alleged Real Estate Scammer Currently Awaiting Trial On Tax Evasion Charges; Tipped Off By Pennsylvania AG

From the Florida Attorney General's Office:

• Attorney General Bill McCollum [last week] sued a Florida real estate company and its Pennsylvania owner, alleging the company has engaged in deceptive advertising to make Florida property sales. Neither Jim Platts nor his company, A Realty Rx, LLC, have licenses to operate as Florida real estate brokers. Additionally, the company allegedly uses false testimonials and other deceptive practices to advertise Florida real estate. [...] According to an investigation conducted by the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Platts has also attempted to negotiate at least one telephone sale from Pennsylvania, where he is currently serving pretrial house arrest pending trial on Federal tax evasion charges.

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• The Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Division was alerted to Platts’ deceptive practices by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, which recently filed a similar lawsuit against Platts and his Pennsylvania company. The lawsuit alleges a litany of deceptive practices, including the use of false and misleading advertising, acting as a real estate broker without a license, wrongfully filing notices of pending lawsuits, engaging in the business of secondary mortgage lending without a license, foreclosure rescue through fraudulent short sale negotiations, and other violations of Pennsylvania real estate and residential mortgage loan statutes.

For more, see Pennsylvania Man Sued for Attempting Deceptive Property Sales in Florida (Individual tried to take advantage of Floridians while out on bond for tax evasion charges).

For a related story, see North Hills businessman convicted of tax evasion (A federal jury found James C. Platts, 56, former owner of Pinnacle Building Co., guilty on five counts.).

Go here for prior posts on James Platts.

To view the Florida AG's lawsuit, see State of Florida v. A Realty Rx, LLC., and Jim Platts (among the practices Platts has been accused of in the past is foreclosure rescue through
fraudulent short sale negotiations).

Pennsylvania AG Files Civil Suit Against Man For Bilking Consumers In Unlicensed Real Estate / Mortgage Activity

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports:

• Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett yesterday said he would ask federal prosecutors to open an investigation into a North Hills real estate broker and his associates, saying James C. Platts and his company, Easy Realty Solutions, flagrantly violated state and federal laws. "This guy's a con artist. He just keeps shifting schemes," said Mr. Corbett, whose office had previously won fines against a Platts-operated rent-to-own scam.

• This time, investigators say he moved on to a wide-ranging home sales operation that falsified incomes to enable unqualified buyers to obtain mortgages, filed fraudulent liens against homes he was selling to extract money from the sellers, created fraudulent second mortgages and practiced law without a license. The liens, known as "lis pendens," were used to guarantee Mr. Platts a profit on sales because his real estate license had been revoked several years ago and he would not have been permitted to collect a sales commission.

The Pennsylvania AG filed a 54-page, 13-count complaint against Platts which noted that his deals frequently included duplicate and conflicting settlement papers, called HUD-1s. The suit asks the court to declare more than $1.2 million in second mortgages void; void an estimated 159 lis pendens that Platts recorded against various properties; and force Platts to refund defrauded parties in an estimated 115 home sale deals since 2004. The suit asserts that Platts engaged in the unlicensed practice of real estate and mortgage brokerage.

For more, see State going after real estate broker.

See also:

• Bradford Woods businessman accused in real estate scam (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review),
• Pensylvania AG Press Release - Attorney General Corbett announces lawsuit in Pittsburgh area real estate and mortgage fraud case,
• Man Charged In Pittsburgh-Area Mortgage Scheme (WTAE-TV Channel 4, Pittsburgh),
• State accuses real estate company president of W. Pa. scam. (The Associated Press).

For earlier reports on Platts, see:

• Confusion reigns in murky house sale,
• The impossible loan: The murky path to a couple's dream home,
• Company under investigation in Pa. seems to have a twin in Florida (Realty pitch sounds familiar),
• Pennsylvania AG Investigating "Short Sale" Flipping Scam.

Pennsylvania AG Investigating "Short Sale" Flipping Scam

(revised 8-23-07)
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office is investigating a residential real estate transaction involving a short sale, a quick flip, the alleged use of falsified double HUD-1 settlement statements, and possible mortgage fraud. The individual at the center of the deal is James Platts, of Easy Realty Solutions. Platts has, in the past, reportedly pleaded guilty to a dozen counts of fraud and theft in connection with the home building business he once ran, and he was indicted earlier this year on charges of tax evasion. He has also been the subject of complaints by dozens of couples in connection with other real estate transactions, according to the story. He has also reportedly been connected with a "rent-to-own" program offered to consumers. For more, see Confusion reigns in murky house sale.

For more on Jim Platts (and a similar operation he runs in Florida), see Company under investigation in Pa. seems to have a twin in Florida (Realty pitch sounds familiar).

Go here for other posts on James Platts.

Florida AG Targets Alleged Pennsylvania Rent To Own Scam Artist

In Broward County, Florida, WFOR-TV Channel 4 reports:

• Jim Platts, 56, is being investigated by the Florida Attorney General after Pennsylvania authorities as early as 2002 arrested the homebuilder for forgery and theft. Now, federal authorities are worried about Platt's business dealings in South Florida. In November of last year, the attorney general in the same state of his arrest accused Platts of tax evasion, and filed a civil lawsuit against his company, Easy Realty Solutions. The charges are that Platts ripped off more than a hundred people in a rent-to-own mortgage scheme. [...] After the Pennsylvania incident, CBS4 learned that state documents show Platts opened up a firm in South Florida called A Realty Prescription in Coral Springs. The office: a post office box.

For more, see Homebuilder Under Investigation In South Florida.

Go here for prior posts on James Platts.