It isn't very often you run across real estate scammers as brazen as the brother and sister pair charged in Southern California April 7 by federal authorities with running a $6 million real estate scam.
Adolfo Schnoneke of Torrance and Brianca Gonzalez, also known as Blanca Shoneke, of Walnut are accused of stringing their victims along for years, often telling them the house was in the process of going through a short sale. Meanwhile they pocketed the money, also leaving buyers high and dry, according to the Daily Breeze newspaper.
It was unclear how many victims were involved and whether they came from the South Bay area.
These are exactly the types of cases that demonstrate why real estate agents must be licensed. This is type of thing used to happen more fequently before strict laws were put in place about representation and legal business practices.
This pair just really didn't give a donkey's behind. They advertised fake home listings in an attempt to defraud buyers, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.
They apparently posed as licensed agents and posted properties to the Multiple Listing Service even though the homes were not for sale and the actual owners knew nothing about it.
The homes were then marketed at below-market prices and the pair took multiple down payments from interested buyers. In some cases, buyers even transferred the full purchase price of a home to the pair, who deposted the funds into their bank accounts, according to the indictment.
In some cases, the pair strung victims along for years telling them that closing procedures were just taking time because it was a short sale and other reaons why the transaction was taking so long.
In the end, the moral of the story is to trust but verify. Never buy a home you haven't seen. I have to believe that if the buyer had asked to view the property, the pair of con artists wouldn't be able to do that obviously, so the gig is up.
Always keep your noses tuned. If something smells rotten, it probably is.
