A family found the home of their dreams on Craigslist, and paid a down payment to the real estate agent, only to find out that the agent never had the right to sell them the home in the first place, according to an article by Adam Ferrise for Cleveland.com.
Coty Houston, David Yost and their five children bought the home, and even started making repairs on it when the actual real estate agent for the home locked them out of the home told not to come back or be reported to the police for breaking and entering, according to the article.
From the article:
Matthew Boros, 44, of [Cleveland suburb] Strongsville is charged with a fifth-degree felony count of theft by deception. The former real estate agent climbed through a window of the house and posed as the owner in order to scam the family out of more than $5,000, investigators said.
Boros' real estate license was revoked in April after he failed to apply for renewal. It was suspended a year earlier for the same reason, according to the Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing.
And as it turns out, this wasn’t Boros’ first offence.
From the article:
They also didn't know Boros was previously was convicted in Bedford Heights Municipal Court for a scam that involved renting the same house to two different tenants.
For now, Yost and Houston will have to chalk up the $5,000. They hope to recoup the money if Boros is convicted and if a judge orders him to pay restitution. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and his case was bound over to a Cuyahoga County grand jury.
According to the article, Boros' scam allegedly didn't pan out as he was soon arrested and charged.
