Fraudulent Real Estate Scheme
Under the supervision of Professor Lori Outzs-Borgen, the fall 2004
semester in the Homelessness and Housing Clinic was capped with an
extremely successful outcome in the trial for an elderly
African-American woman who lost her home due to a fraudulent real
estate scheme. When our client attempted to refinance her home, she
was defrauded into selling it for $75,000, a price well below market
value. The buyers resold the home just months later for $160,000,
and our client ended up losing her home and a substantial amount of
personal property, as well as suffering an injury at the hands of
the new owner.
Two clinic students -- Michael Cohen and Todd Bergstrom -- along
with returning Professor Virginia Hardwick, represented our client
in a two-day trial before Judge Bernstein at the end of November
2004. We settled for $5,000 with the attorney who had conducted the
fraudulent closing on her house. The clinic also obtained default
judgments against the remaining defendants for $255,000 under the
Consumer Fraud Act, $36,000 for unlawful destruction of property and
the client's personal injury, as well as $45,000 for attorneys’ fees
and costs. Clinic student Brianne O'Brien led the efforts in the
spring 2005 semester to collect the judgments.
|
