Trial Set For Suspect Accused In Home Title-Snatching Scam; Allegedly Filed Phony Deeds On Vacant F'closures, Then Sold Or Rented To Unwitting Victims

In Denver, Colorado, the Denver Business Journal reports:

• A man accused of duping people into buying or renting homes he didn’t own will stand trial on felony theft and forgery charges, a judge decided Monday, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office. Alfonso Carrillo, 50, faces multiple counts of theft, forgery and offering a false instrument for recording in connection with the alleged scam.



• Prosecutors say Carrillo used his business, America’s Home Retention Services, to file phony deeds on houses vacated through foreclosure to get access to the property and pose as the owner.



• “The charges allege he took thousands of dollars in payments from unsuspecting potential home buyers and then gave them fraudulent deeds to properties,” according to the DA’s news release. “The actual property owners were unaware the property had been ‘sold.’”



• Carrillo targeted undocumented, Spanish-speaking buyers who would be reluctant to go to police.

For the story, see Trial set for alleged fraudulent homeowner.