STRIPPING FORECLOSED HOMES

ARIZONA INFORMATION TO ASSIST THE ARIZONA MORTGAGE BROKER©
(May 18, 2009)

FBI AGENTS AND LOCAL LAW-ENFORCEMENT HAVE ARRESTED FIVE PEOPLE THIS PAST MONTH FOR STRIPPING THEIR FORECLOSED HOMES

FACTS

FBI agents and local law-enforcement personnel have arrested five people in the past month for stripping their foreclosed homes of appliances, cabinets, countertops and plumbing fixtures. That includes cases in Fountain Hills, Anthem, Phoenix and Surprise of some of the more egregious violators who are taking everything they can out of homes.

To combat the theft, the Mortgage Fraud Task Force is going after violators who have stripped multiple investment properties that investors are losing to foreclosure, rather than homeowners who have lost their home. But the enforcement effort is also trying to discourage those thefts as well.

One realtor has been recently arrested for this type of theft. The task force recently arrested Kailash Bhatt, 43, after officials say he advertised the sale of cabinets, granite countertops, an oven, microwave and dishwasher on craiglist.org. Bhatt, who owned a foreclosed home in Anthem, was indicted last month by a Maricopa County grand jury on charges of theft and defrauding creditors. Bhatt, who operates a Web site listing foreclosed properties, accepted $2,000 from an undercover task force agent, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

The FBI Mortgage Task Force, which got its start last June, is also continuing to investigate mortgage-fraud cases. Prosecutors are working on plea deals or to take those cases to trial, said Halferty, the task force supervisor. Some of the new cases involved schemes with losses of $10 million to $100 million, she said. Agent Tolhurst said a number of people employed in financial services and real estate have come forward to assist the task force. (azrep51409)

MORAL

First buy the investment property, then strip it and then win the prize of going to prison . Remember, everyone is innocent until convicted. I trust he has a good attorney. If not, I can recommend one.