When Oklahoma father and business owner David Ortega signed a mortgage with Home Masters LLC 15 years ago, he thought he was buying his home from its rightful owner, and that his monthly payments would pay off the mortgage. He was wrong.
Turns out the owner of Home Masters LLC owed money on a pre-existing mortgage on the house, and no payments have been made on it since March 2024.
“I feel stupid for being bamboozled,” Ortega said when interviewed by KFOR-TV Oklahoma City.
Now the mortgage lender is threatening foreclosure unless the $44,000 balance is paid in full on the spot, something Ortega can’t do. He only learned the truth when he was served with the foreclosure notice.
“I’m just a father, a family man trying to make it,” he said. “I never thought that I would be a fraud victim.”
Ortega purchased the home from Home Masters LLC in 2009 for $70,000. He put down 10% of the home’s purchase price and has paid $665 a month ever since. All told, he’s sunk about $126,000 into the property.
KFOR reached out to the man who’s been collecting Ortega’s payments all these years who said he’s working with a bank to resolve the situation and that Ortega has “nothing to worry about.” But he wouldn’t provide details, leaving Ortega in limbo.
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Real-estate transactions are a top target for consumer fraud, and the scams take various forms. Some involve fake listings of homes that aren’t really for sale, and would-be buyers pay a deposit to someone who’s not actually the rightful owner of the home.
Wire fraud can take place during the closing process, with a criminal emailing would-be buyers a link for the down payment. CertifID — a company that provides digital ID technology to prevent such fraud — reports that in 2023, almost 25% of US homebuyers received suspicious communications during closing and more than one in 20 became actual fraud victims.
Older Americans are particularly vulnerable. According to the FBI’s Elder Fraud Report, Americans 60 and older lost more than $65 million to real-estate fraud in 2023, making it one of the top 10 costliest frauds affecting that demographic.
