I can’t believe that our credentials were used to scam 2 elderly men, ages 77 and 79 out of $60,000.
Imagine my surprise , when I got a letter in the mail with a copy of a promissory note in my name, a copy of a “Deed of Trust with Assignments of Rents” on the property we rehabbed in Riverside and a copy of the 2 deposited checks of $30,000 into an account called Carlton Financial at Wells Fargo, a copy of the appraisal on the property, and a letter asking me to pay the monthly installments directly to the investors.
We bought the property in Riverside late July. In August I inquired with a broker about getting some cash out of the house so we could accelerate our investing activities. The broker ordered an appraisal which came in at a ridiculously low amount. That meant that we wouldn’t be able to get enough cash to do anything significant so we turned it down, and decided to wait for it to sell.
According to these elderly gentlemen, this lady presented them with the appraisal and drove them to the property. They also thought the property was worth more than the appraisal and felt confident in taking $60,000 out of their CD to fund a secure property earning a much higher interest rate. She even paid their interest payments for a couple of months and then she disappeared.
I’m not out any money, and the county records are executed properly. The only ones financially affected from this deal is these poor men, but I still feel violated and am appalled that someone falsely used my credentials and our property to steal money from the elderly.
Update: Mary Perkins, the scammer, plead guilty to mail fraud to scamming over 90 people out of $7 million. Her sentencing is currently scheduled for December 7.
Mary Perkins was finally sentenced. According to http://whathappenedtothemoney.blogspot.com/2011/03/i-owe-i-owe-off-to-prison-mary-goes.html, she received 121 months in prison, 3 years probation, over $17 million in restitution. Supported by fellow victims, the judge deflected her pleas for cooperation during this extremely long process. She was originally arrested in May of 2010.