Arizona AG Squeezes Duo For $120K Settlement In Civil Suit Alleging Flipping Racket Combining Use Of Straw Buyer Investors, "Rent-To-Own" Homebuyers

In Pima County, Arizona, the Arizona Daily Star reports:

• Two Tucson real estate agents and their affiliated companies agreed to a $120,000 settlement for their role in a deal that state prosecutors say deceived novice investors, lenders and unqualified home buyers.(1)

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• The Attorney General's Office alleged that [Andrew] Silverstein, when he was a real estate agent with Re/Max All Executives, told investors they could purchase investment homes and obtain 100 percent financing. Silverstein and other co-defendants told the investors they would find rent-to-own buyers to purchase the properties, and they would receive their rent every month whether or not rent was collected, according to the attorney general.

• Silverstein and other co-defendants then sought out rent-to-own buyers to enter into purchase agreements for homes that they would otherwise not qualify for, state prosecutors said. Eventually, the attorney general said, investors no longer received rental amounts that covered their increasing mortgage payments and many of the homes went into foreclosure.

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• Others originally named in the case - Tucson Mortgage Co., WGA Enterprises, William Anastopoulos and Jane Doe Anastopoulos -reached a $60,000 settlement with the attorney general on Jan. 8. The Attorney General's Office said its case remains active against additional defendants, including other loan officers and a rent-to-own company, AZI Rent2Own LLC, which does business as Arizona Investments and AZI, and its owner.

Source: 2 realty agents settle investment case.

For the Arizona AG press release, see Terry Goddard Announces Settlements in Real Estate Fraud Case.

(1) The settlement was reached with Andrew T. Silverstein; his company, Andrew Silverstein PLLC; and VinLan Ventures Inc., doing business as Re/Max All Executives. Vincent Volpe, Re/Max's president and CEO, also agreed to the settlement. Their attorneys said the judgment, filed in Pima County Superior Court, didn't include any admissions of wrongdoing.