R/E Agent Faces Charges Of Using Downpayment Cash From Would-Be Homebuyers To Take Title To House; Unwitting Couple Left As Tenants In Own Home

In Newman, California, The Modesto Bee reports:

• Carlos Gonzales and Ernestina Valladarez said they have faced 13 judges in criminal, civil and bankruptcy courts in what's become a five-year fight to save their home. The couple said then-PMZ agent Erica Burdg of Modesto took $350,000 from them, including a down payment and monthly mortgage payments on their Newman house. Then Burdg tried to evict them.

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• Gonzales, 59, and Valladarez, 60, said they believed they were buying a home in the summer of 2002, when they gave Burdg $22,481 and moved into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house on a corner lot in Newman. [Attorney Mike] Linn said Burdg crafted a purchase agreement for Gonzales, but sold the home to her husband, then to her son. He claims the signatures of Gonzales and the home's previous owners were forged on sales documents. Burdg later filed a lawsuit to evict the Newman couple, who prevailed in November 2006 when a Superior Court jury said Gonzales and Valladarez didn't have to move out. A three-judge appellate panel agreed.

Reportedly, Judge John G. Whiteside said Burdg and her son, Carlos Obando, must face a jury in September after the two pleaded not guilty [] to all charges.

For the story, see Judge orders trial on Newman couple's claims of real estate fraud.

For an earlier story, see Who owns home? Newman case tied up in courts.