I have bemoaned the entitlement attitude prevalent in today's society - "I deserve what everybody else has, even if I can't afford it." But this takes it to new heights.
Scammers are making lots of money on houses they do not own. It's been made possible by the high number of recent foreclosures. Here's how it works. The scammer finds foreclosed houses, changes the door locks, and finds people to move in. He collects rent just like he owned the place until the owner of the house or a real estate agency finds him out. Many times, the renters know what's going on, but they're living in a high dollar house for a cut rate rent, so they don't complain. When they get kicked out, they just find another foreclosed property to move into.
One of the biggest scammers involved in these schemes is Jackie Lewis. Guess what? He's Pastor Jackie Lewis. A mutual friend, knowing she needed a house, put Gloria Harrison in touch with Lewis. He showed her a 2,880 square foot property in Cedar Hill, and she agreed to pay him $1,600 a month for two years. She'd only lived there 12 days when Yolanda Wilson dropped by. Oops! She's the daughter of the actual owner. She said when she saw people living in her father's house, she wondered if he had set up a mistress there.
Lewis says it was all a misunderstanding. He uses his real estate ventures as a ministry. "God had shown me a way at the most opportune time in America to save their houses," he said. I don't buy it. Neither did the jury that convicted him.
"Scammers finding open door at foreclosed homes." The Dallas Morning News; February 14, 2009; p. 17A.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment