We read these stories in the newspaper all the time, and "tsk. tsk" at how unthinking people are to let themselves be taken in by obvious cons, but yesterday it hit closer to home, and affected me like hearing that someone I know well is gravely ill, rather than reading statistics in the paper about the same illness.
A good friend is in a terrible situation. She and her husband succumbed to real estate fraud of the worst kind, and have lost the money from the sale of her business and the equity in their house...plus their good credit is ruined. The swindler has disappeared, and now they are facing foreclosure on two rental properties that he never made payments on, plus deposits on two houses that never were for sale. The loan company involved has dissolved and the real estate company, closed. They refinanced their own house on his recommendation, and now have an interest only loan for over $700,000 that can't be refinanced. He kept them on the hook for over two years, making occasional payments (probably from money he took from other people). They didn't really catch on until they were refused a loan for a condo their college student daughter was buying, and found out that their impeccable credit was destroyed....way too trusting and gullible, but my heart aches for her. I know what it's like to lose everything you worked for.
They will never see the money again, even if they find this guy.
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