Alleged Foreclosure Scam Busted

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Hundreds of homeowners facing foreclosure have fallen victim to scam artists who told them they could hang on to their properties by placing them in phony “land grants,” the L.A. times reports.


In a joint announcement, California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, San Diego County prosecutors and the FBI said they had shut down Federal Land Grant Co., a San Diego-based business that allegedly persuaded hundreds of homeowners, most of whom didn’t speak English, to pay $10,000 each for the bogus protection from foreclosure.


The homeowners were falsely told that by transferring their land back to the federal government they could protect it from any lender’s claim and eventually get it back free and clear, although they might first be evicted, officials said.


In related cases, authorities said, property owners paid only $500 but signed their homes over to the defendants and were required to make payments to supposedly lease back their own homes.


In both scenarios, the homeowners typically wound up losing their money and being evicted, Brown said.



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