Massachusetts man says scammers tried to steal his home with fraudulent sale
PLYMOUTH - A Plymouth man says that fraudsters tried to steal his home out from under him, just one week after WBZ's I-Team reported on a similar scam in Concord.
John Grimes bought his home six years ago and loves the privacy of his backyard. Grimes says his house backs up to conservation land and a cranberry bog.
"It's very quiet here in the summertime," Grimes said.
Attorney warns of purchase and sale agreement
Two weeks ago Grimes was home when he got a call from Attorney Alan Sharaf. Sharaf told him he had a signed purchase and sale agreement for his house sitting on his desk and wanted to be sure Grimes was selling the property. The buyer was from Montreal and had the same name as a famous soccer star in Canada.
Grimes says he was shocked, he was not selling the house and he did not sign the agreement. He had no idea about the deal for his home. He tried calling the phone number for the buyer but no one answered.
"I figured maybe I'd get lucky and get somebody on the phone and express my displeasure with them trying to steal my house from me," Grimes said.
Sharaf says he knew it was a scam. There were a lot of red flags, an all cash transaction, with a buyer that lives out of the country. He says he called Grimes to warn him, but he also thought the thieves would not likely give up easily.
"I said let me tell you what's going to happen," Sharaf told Grimes. "In the next two weeks, not me but another attorney is going show up at the registry of deeds and record a fraudulent deed and take your house away. You'll get it back but it will cost you thousands of dollars in legal fees."
And sure enough, Grimes says he got a knock on his door the following day. An engineering firm told him they were hired to do a plot plan for the property that was being sold. Grimes could not believe the thieves were still trying to take his house.
Land and home scams on the rise
Just last month, an I-Team investigation revealed fraudsters stole vacant land in Concord, and were building a house on it. The couple who lives out of state is now suing to get the property back.
Scams involving stealing land and homes are on the rise. Both the FBI and the Secret Service sent out bulletins warning homeowners.
Recently the National Association of Realtors put out a video with tips to help real estate agents avoid getting caught up in the fraud. Grimes says this has been very unnerving and he's grateful that he got the call about the pending sale before it went through.
Grimes filed a fraud report with the FBI. He also signed up for a notification alert at the registry of deeds. That alert is free and will let him know when a document is recorded for his property. To set up your notification click here.