I have a friend who works at a company in the same office park mentioned in the article. His firm received the letters, and he scanned them and emailed them to me. He wishes to remain anonymous, and the letters are copyrighted material, so I cannot post them. However, I do swear on my honor as a Wikinews writer that I am quoting the documents accurately and endeavoring to describe them in context as well as I am able. Pingswept 03:30, 5 May 2005 (UTC)Reply[reply]
"...U.S. District Judge William Alsup of San Francisco, ruling in a suit between the Dorean duo and some lenders, called the operation 'an elaborate Internet scam.' Alsup had a copy of his order sent to the U.S. attorney in San Francisco." - Sacramento BeeVery interesting story. The fact the FBI apparantly didn't charge anyone with fraud may mean this company's activity is not easily proven to be illegal; also the letter seems to indicate they used their technique to take possession of the building their offices are in. Some US property law is extremely weird. In some states if someone pays the taxes for 20 years they own the property.In Oregon some counties issue tax bills on properties that don't exist yet(are just lines in a developer's proposal)Then,after the proposal is abandoned or rejected, the tax bills still exist indefinitely(believe it or not). Con-men buy the right to pay the taxes and turn around and sell the non-existant properties on a "buyer beware" basis;using the tax bills as "proof" the property is real.In Florida,when an "alien" sells property,the real estate agent(and/or title lawyer) is supposed to hold onto 10% of the sale price for the IRS...and nobody tells the alien this is going to happen when he first buys the property.
Wow, this is a very interesting story. Paulrevere2005 11:13, 6 May 2005 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Talk:Mortgage advisers attempt to collect rent from neighbors after FBI raid in Union City, California