THIS IS A REPUBLISHED ARTICLE SUBMITT BY MARK MAUPIN

Detroit Mortgage Scam Hurts Elderly

www.TheRealEstateBloggers.Com

This has to be one of the lowest forms of mortgage fraud I have ever seen. A loan officer outside of Detroit arranged reverse mortgages for elderly customers and only gave them part of the proceeds while keeping some for himself. A reverse mortgage is one where it pays out while accruing interest against a home that was typically paid off so that an elderly person could have an addition income.

But this dirt bag preyed on elderly homeowners and lied and stole from them. The police feel they are just at the tip of an iceberg with these scams and that dozens of people may have been stolen from.

Anthony Darryl James, 43, is scheduled to be arraigned today in 34th District Court in Belleville on two felony charges stemming from a $103,000 loan he obtained for 84-year-old Shirley Schultz. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Schultz thought the loan was for $61,000 and didn't know that James had secretly kept a $42,000 check for himself.Schultz later learned the full amount when she started receiving bills for a loan that, with interest, totaled $131,000, Worthy said."We feel this is just the tip of the iceberg," Worthy said, referring to the ongoing investigation against James. "This is a far-reaching scam."

Worthy said James is suspected of defrauding senior citizens in Wayne and Oakland counties. Reverse mortgages are legal, tax-free loans or credit lines homeowners can take against the equity they have in their properties. They are often used by the elderly, who frequently own their houses outright. Prosecutor: Loan scam duped dozens - 06/15/06 - The Detroit News Online.
Article Submitted by: John Lopez

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