Buyers and sellers need to be careful about the people they deal with. If you are giving all your personal information to someone that you found over the internet, you had better check them out carefully first.
Last month I wrote about a Shark Alert In Alaska’s Waters. At the time I didn’t name anyone because it was not yet absolutely clear that the person was doing anything illegal although it was definitely unethical.
Since then a lot of information has come out Richardson Equities and it seems that the FBI has uncovered a huge scheme that has hundreds of victims. Here is a video from KATU in Oregon about the investigation. If you see this guy, call the FBI.
He tells people that he will help them buy a house if they send him a deposit. It seems that most people sent him $3,000 to $5,000 but I have heard of one person who lost more than $50,000. In most case I heard about, he just pocketed the deposit and flaked out of buying the house. If they actually do buy a house he set up a rent-to-own plan where they would pay him an above market rent amount on a monthly basis. But he pocketed all the rent monies without paying the mortgage. People are now receiving notices from the lender that they must vacate.
This is a good lesson in the importance of making sure you are dealing with reputable people. Get references from people who know. In this case, Richardson Equities not only bilked his victims out of the money they payed him for real estate, it appears that they also drained their bank accounts.
If you would like to good references give me a call. My cell number is 907 232–7900
