Скачать или смотреть Mortgage fraud: Do your homework before getting involved in home flipping

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - After watching home improvement shows, some people dream about flipping real estate and making big profits.

But, it turned into a nightmare for one homeowner who hoped to use his good credit to become a property manager.

There are warning signs that should help you avoid a similar investment scheme.

Derrick Suggs mistakenly bought a house after getting caught up in an elaborate mortgage fraud scam.

“I just started looking at myself and saying, ‘you didn't do your due diligence, so now you have to figure your way out of this.’” Said Derrick Suggs, a fraud victim.

Derrick admits he made some rookie mistakes when he decided to try and make money by managing properties.

He and a friend thought they could buy houses, manage them, and share in the profit.

Initially his contribution would only be his good credit and he wouldn't have to put any money up front.

That business model made sense.

But postal inspectors say Derrick and his friend were set up to fail once they met Larry Graham and Sylvia Cathey.

“She purchased properties and then she would resell them within a few months for a greatly increased profit,” said Susan Link, a US postal inspector.

How could she do this? False information supplied by her appraiser partner Larry Graham.

He would inflate the values of the properties so that they would look more appealing to the banks to approve the loans.

Based on fraudulent documents, Derrick Suggs bought 12 properties at inflated prices that were basically uninhabitable.

“My name is pretty much on everything and I’m going to be the one left holding the bag,” said Suggs.

He was right and as banks and creditors began calling, he became scared.

“When I was thinking about you know being in debt, now I’m thinking about a federal crime because now it seems like I have created some fraudulent documents and at that time, that's when I knew I had been taken for a ride,” said Suggs.

Postal inspectors say the best advice for any and every investment is this: do your research.

Before you buy, go look at the house that you are supposed to be investing in. If the investors would have gone and looked at the properties, they would have noticed some significant issues with what they were told versus what they found.

Several federal agencies worked together to arrest and charge Sylvia Cathey and Larry Graham.

Cathey was sentenced to more than four years in prison for her role in the scheme as well as 300 hours of community service and restitution to the victims.