Philly Feds Pinch "Slumlord Millionaire" In Connection w/ Allegedly Peddling Shabby Homes In Rent To Own Scam Leaving Wanna Be Homebuyers In F'closure

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Daily News reports:

• FOR THE alleged victims of Philadelphia's homegrown "Slumlord Millionaire," federal prison for him would be too comfy.



• Robert Coyle Sr. - the real-estate mogul who was widely known for peddling shabby homes to the city's poorest and robbing them of their dream of home ownership - was indicted last week on charges of defrauding banks out of $10 million. If convicted, Coyle could face up to 120 years in prison and $4 million in fines.



• "I'm liking that he might have to pay $4 million in fines - he'll feel that," Inez Ramos, an alleged Coyle victim, said last night. "But if he goes to prison, he'll still have a roof over his head. He is not going to get cold or worry that he's not going to have enough money for food. He'll have a place to sleep and he'll get three meals a day, and taxpayers like us, we'll have to pay for it."



• Ramos is one of dozens of cash-strapped tenants, mostly in Kensington and Port Richmond, who claim that Coyle promised that they could rent-to-own their homes. The hopeful homeowners used what little money they had to make Coyle's rickety homes livable. They spent their life savings to install sinks, toilets, windows, walls, roofs, kitchens and front doors.



• After all that, instead of getting deeds, they got slapped with foreclosure notices and faced eviction.



• In an October 2009 article, the Daily News detailed how Coyle, who ran Landvest and at least 11 other companies, obtained more than $15 million in bank loans on some 300 homes that he owned or rented out, then stopped making bank payments and padlocked his Port Richmond real-estate office.(1)

For the story, see They want 'slumlord' to feel their pain.

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania):

• Indictment: U.S. v. Robert Coyle, Sr.;


• Press Release: New Jersey Man Charged With Loan Fraud.

(1) For earlier posts on ths story, see:

• Philly DA, Feds Probe "Dream Killer" In Suspected Rent To Own Scam Peddling Shabby Homes To City's Poorest; Victims Paid Thousand$, Now Face The Boot;



• Probe Continues Into Suspected Philly Rent-To-Own Racket; Unsophisticated Would-Be Buyers Duped Into Fixing Up Decrepit Homes & Ended In Foreclosure.

Philly 'Dream-Killing Slumlord' Cops Plea To Loan Fraud In Connection With Rent To Own Racket That Left Wanna-Be Homeowners Screwed Over

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania):

• Robert Coyle, Sr., 67, of Glassboro, New Jersey, pleaded guilty [] to two counts of loan fraud. Coyle owned and/or rented more than 300 properties in Philadelphia and operated a real estate business out of 2332 E. Allegheny Avenue. Among his business entities were Landvest, LLP, Alivest, LLP, and Otay, LLC, to name few.
  
  Through those business entities, Coyle borrowed more than $3 million from East River Bank (“ERB”) and more than $6.6 million from Republic First Bank (“RFB”). Polonia Bank was a 49% participant in the ERB loans after settlement. The purpose of the loans was purportedly to refinance existing loans, make improvements on some of the properties Coyle owned, and/or to allow Coyle to pursue other real estate opportunities.
  
  Coyle pledged approximately 71 properties to secure the ERB loans and approximately 117 other properties to secure the RFB loan. The banks anticipated that the loans would be repaid through rental income that Coyle was collecting and, if necessary, through the sale of the collateral properties.
  
  But Coyle had entered into various ownership agreements, including rent-to-own, with the occupants of several of the properties and he, therefore, did not hold good title for all of the properties he pledged. The loans that were submitted totaled more than $10 million.
  
  U.S. District Court Judge Stewart Dalzell scheduled a sentencing hearing for January 4, 2013. Coyle faces a maximum possible sentence of 60 years in prison, five years of supervised release, $2 million in fines, restitution to the banks, and a $200 special assessment.
  
  The defendant also agrees to pay restitution as directed by the court to individuals who had entered into rent-to-own, house swap, or similar ownership agreements with the defendant, or any entity controlled by the defendant, for properties that were pledged as collateral.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty To Loan Fraud.

See also, Philly DA, Feds Probe "Dream Killer" In Suspected Rent To Own Scam Peddling Shabby Homes To City's Poorest; Victims Paid Thousand$, Now Face The Boot.

Go here for earlier posts on this story.

So-Called 'Dream-Killing Slumlord Millionaire' Gets 72 Months In Mortgage Fraud Scam Used In Connection With 'Rent To Own' Racket That Peddled Shabby Houses To City's Poorest; Philly Feds' Prosecution Leads To Inclusion Of Wanna-Be Homebuyer/Victims In Restitution Order

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania):

• Robert Coyle, Sr., 68, of Glassboro, New Jersey, was sentenced [] to 72 months in prison for a loan fraud scheme that attempted to swindle more than $10 million from three banks. He pleaded guilty to two counts of loan fraud on October 1, 2012.
  
  Coyle owned and/or rented more than 300 properties in Philadelphia and operated a real estate business out of 2332 E. Allegheny Avenue. Among his business entities were Landvest, LLP, Alivest, LLP, and Otay, LLC, to name a few. Through those business entities, Coyle borrowed more than $3 million from East River Bank (“ERB”) and more than $6.6 million from Republic First Bank (“RFB”).
  
  Polonia Bank was a 49% participant in the ERB loans after settlement. The purpose of the loans was purportedly to refinance existing loans, make improvements on some of the properties Coyle owned, and/or to allow Coyle to pursue other real estate opportunities. Coyle pledged approximately 71 properties to secure the ERB loans and approximately 117 other properties to secure the RFB loan. The banks anticipated that the loans would be repaid through rental income that Coyle was collecting and, if necessary, through the sale of the collateral properties.
  
  But Coyle had entered into various ownership agreements, including rent-to-own, with the occupants of several of the properties and he, therefore, did not hold good title for all of the properties he pledged. The loans that were submitted totaled more than $10 million.
  
  In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Stewart Dalzell ordered restitution in the amount of $6,480,302.65, five years of supervised release, a $200 special assessment, and a forfeiture money judgment of $10,106,200.
  
  The restitution amount includes individuals who had entered into rent-to-own, house swap, or similar ownership agreements with the defendant, or any entity controlled by the defendant, for properties that were pledged as collateral.(1)

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see New Jersey Man Sentenced To Six Years In Prison For Loan Fraud.

(1) For earlier posts on Philadelphia's dream-killing 'slumlord millionaire,' see:

• Philly 'Dream-Killing Slumlord' Cops Plea To Loan Fraud In Connection With Rent To Own Racket That Left Wanna-Be Homeowners Screwed Over,
  ...................
• Philly DA, Feds Probe "Dream Killer" In Suspected Rent To Own Scam Peddling Shabby Homes To City's Poorest; Victims Paid Thousand$, Now Face The Boot,
  ..................
• Philly Feds Pinch "Slumlord Millionaire" In Connection w/ Allegedly Peddling Shabby Homes In Rent To Own Scam Leaving Wanna Be Homebuyers In F'closure,
  .................
• Probe Continues Into Suspected Philly Rent-To-Own Racket; Unsophisticated Would-Be Buyers Duped Into Fixing Up Decrepit Homes & Ended In Foreclosure.

Philly DA, Feds Probe "Dream Killer" In Suspected Rent To Own Scam Peddling Shabby Homes To City's Poorest; Victims Paid Thousand$, Now Face The Boot

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Daily News reports:

• WIND and rain blew through the shell of a house on Monmouth Street. The ceilings and walls had gaping holes; the shower and broken toilet could be seen from the floor below. There was no front door, no kitchen, no heat. But to Isabel Santos, this derelict Kensington house held the promise of her first real home, her slice of the American Dream.

• In 2002, Santos signed an "installment-sale agreement" with a Philadelphia company owned by Robert N. Coyle Sr., a real-estate mogul and self-made millionaire, widely known for peddling shabby homes to the city's poorest. Under the agreement, Santos would own the house in five years. Santos and her ex-husband sunk at least $20,000 of their own money to create a home out of rubble. But instead of a deed, Santos recently got slapped with a foreclosure notice, and she and her teenage son, Jose, could soon be on the street. That's because Coyle defaulted on a mortgage he took out on the house. Santos felt swindled.

• So did dozens of others, the city's downtrodden, many living paycheck to paycheck, who put every last dime into fixing up homes they thought they'd own one day. Now they're just one step away from homelessness. They blame one man - Coyle, a man they call a "dream killer," a "slumlord millionaire." The Daily News has learned that Coyle, 64, is at the center of a massive fraud investigation being conducted by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office and federal authorities.(1)(2)

For more, including a profile of Coyle and his suspected racket, see Slumlord sold them lies, many say (To tenants, he's a slumlord, a swindler, a dream-slayer; now he's the subject of a fraud investigation).

(1) Among the reported allegations hovering over Coyle are that he:

• Promised people they could rent to own their homes, without being able to deliver on such a promise,
• Obtained more than $15 million in bank loans on nearly 300 homes he rented out, then stopped making bank payments and padlocked his Allegheny Avenue rowhouse real-estate office in Port Richmond. The houses are now headed for sheriff's sale,
• Forged hundreds - possibly thousands - of housing-inspection licenses that allowed him to rent the homes. Many of them had no heat or water, seeping sewage and rotted floors - violations that would've prevented Coyle from getting licenses,
• Failed to pay the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in property and business taxes and water fees, leaving tenants without water.

(2) Reportedly, at least nine attorneys, some of whom work for nonprofit legal agencies, are fighting to stop the sheriff's sales on behalf of clients who live in Coyle's homes. They argue that their clients have ownership rights, though the banks disagree. According to the story, by law, all home-sale agreements must be in writing. But there are three exceptions: If you are in possession of the property; if you've made significant improvements; and if you've paid some or all of the purchase price for a few years and/or paid off any liens, according to Kelly J. Gastley, staff attorney at Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program (VIP). What's at stake is "enormous," said Stefanie F. Seldin, a managing attorney for VIP. "The man is evil," she said. "He's taken these folks with limited English proficiency, literacy and means, and sold them a dream. Instead, he sold them a lie." rent to own lease purchase option scams yellowstone

Probe Continues Into Suspected Philly Rent-To-Own Racket; Unsophisticated Would-Be Buyers Duped Into Fixing Up Decrepit Homes & Ended In Foreclosure

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Daily News reports:

• TWO-AND-A-HALF years have passed since Robert N. Coyle Sr. defaulted on bank loans on nearly 300 Kensington homes that he rented to the city's poorest in search of the American dream.

• Dozens of tenants who had poured money into decrepit homes believing that they'd one day own them found themselves in the eye of a massive foreclosure storm, and one step from homelessness. That's when they dubbed Coyle "a dream killer" and a "slumlord millionaire."

• Since the Daily News chronicled Coyle's shattered empire in October 2009, some tenants still fear they'll be evicted. Many of Coyle's homes sit vacant and boarded, making whole blocks resemble war zones. Meanwhile, a small army of bank executives, judges, attorneys, City Council members and criminal investigators battle to sort out the mess[.]

***

• Coyle's attorney, Alan L. Frank, said that his client was a decent person who intended to meet his loan obligations and honor any rent-to-own agreements, but that Coyle - and the banks - were overly "optimistic" about the real-estate market. "I really do believe that this mess is not his fault," Frank said. "The banks were literally lining up. They were all pitching their money at [Coyle's real-estate] entities."

• But Stefanie Seldin, a managing attorney at Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program (VIP), calls Frank's argument "laughable." "I just don't buy it," she said. "There was such corruption involved in all of his deals."

• "Granted, the banks' lack of due diligence is striking, but, nevertheless, he put people in homes that were not livable and he promised them that no matter what happened, they'd become homeowners. He preyed on folks who wanted to buy into the American Dream."

For more, see 'Slumlord' vs. the American Dream: Their homes, their hopes ... gone?