Twin Cities house flipper pleads guilty to fraud

MINNEAPOLIS -- A woman who ran a house-flipping business in the Minneapolis area has pleaded guilty to defrauding real estate investors out of more than $3 million.

Suzanne Griffiths, 46, is charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Authorities say she frequently made material misrepresentations about the status of real estate projects, failed to take promised action, falsified documents and misappropriated investments for her own use.

Griffiths, who now resides in Arizona, allegedly recruited investors at seminars of a national real estate investment coaching program.
In one case, prosecutors said, Griffiths solicited a $100,000 investment from an investor to finance the renovation of a property. She assured the investor that the necessary mortgage documents had been filed with the appropriate county. The documents were never filed and the victim lost their entire investment.

House flippers buy properties in need of numerous renovations and profit on the difference between the amount invested and the sale price.

Griffiths' court-appointed attorney did not immediately return an email message seeking comment. A sentencing date has not been set.