Friday, November 6, 2009

Suspected Colorado Home Hijacker May Be Federal Fugitive Accused Of Rent Skimming In Utah

In Parker, Colorado, KUSA-TV Channel 9 reports on an alleged rental scam involving a man who approaches homeowners facing foreclosure and allegedly cons them, under color of an official having some connection with the foreclosure action, into moving out and turning over possession of their homes to him. He then allegedly rents the home to unsuspecting tenants and milks the rent out of the home.

  • On Craigslist, 9NEWS discovered [Greg] Castle listed at least 21 homes from the metro area and several in Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Kansas. New homes continue to appear each month. Homeowner after homeowner told 9NEWS Castle convinced them to sign an "Assignment of Surrender and Possession" document they thought was the final paperwork from their banks. [...] In fine print at the bottom it says Associated Home Inspection, Castle's supposed company, has the right to take possession of the house and move new people in to "house sit" the property. Castle collects the rent, homeowners don't get a cent.

***

  • [O]ne of Castle's renters forwarded 9NEWS a letter from Castle with a return address for a home in Ogden, Utah. The address traced back to Gordon Miller - a man charged in 2005 with equity skimming, mail fraud and wire fraud after prosecutors say he ran a scheme very similar to what victims claim he runs now. When it came time for Miller to face a jury, he never showed up for court. U.S. Marshals now consider him a fugitive.

  • After 9Wants to Know showed United States Marshal deputies in Utah the evidence it uncovered linking Castle to Miller, deputies tell us they believe Castle and Miller are the same person. "It appears from your investigation, and what you guys have in Colorado, that he's up to his new tricks. Same thing, just different state," Supervisor Deputy U.S. Marshal Mike Wingert said. 9Wants to Know has learned when Miller was charged in 2005, the first name of one of the attorneys involved in the case was Greg and the last name of a prosecutor was Castle.

For more, see Who is Greg Castle?

For follow-up stores, see:

  • More victims of Castle rental scheme come forward: 9Wants to Know has also learned that officials in Gillette, Wyoming have joined the Parker Police Department, Arapahoe County District Attorney's office and the Colorado Attorney General's office investigating Castle. [...] 9NEWS viewers in Milliken, Greeley and Castle Rock say they too were victims of Castle's scheme. 9Wants to Know has identified homes listed by Castle in Colorado, Kansas, Florida, Arizona, Nevada and now possibly Wyoming.

  • Man accused of foreclosure scheme responds: The man 9Wants to Know exposed for running a sophisticated rental scheme won't turn himself over to authorities, but responded to our story in the comment section on 9NEWS.com. KappaPhonyLandlordScam

No comments: