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Investors, Tenants, Potential Tenants, Contractors - BEWARE - this company and it's ownership should be avoided if you value your investments, good credit and personal or business security. Here are a few reasons, please feel free to do your own research - JUST BE SURE YOU DO - Lance Puig and York Street Properties, York Street Homes, York Street Investments and the numerous LLC's this organization operates under have caused 100's thousands of dollars of loss, 100's of wasted hours and countless heartaches for good people:
1) Debts and returns on investment are not honored in a timely fashion, if at all.
2) If you're tenant don't believe if you rent a home expecting to buy it that you ever will. It's a false promise - ask existing tenants.
3) If you're an investor; don't believe you are getting a safe, reliable, well maintained investment - ask past investors.
4) If you're a contractor; don't give this company or Lance Puig any credit - he does not pay.
5) Don't believe what you read on the website(s), in blogs or on radio shows. Icons are unauthorized, statements are false & exaggerated.
6) Don't believe mortgages (in your name) will be paid or debts for services will be paid - they won't be.
Here's a few examples of fact:
a) There are numerous lien filings, small claims filings and court filings against this company and Lance Puig. The subjects are wide
ranging (non-payment, fraud, etc). He gets contractors to remodel houses, then doesn't pay them - $1 Mil of examples cab be given
b) Investors have lost their investments due to non-payment of mortgages.
c) The BBB has not been paid and the "Online Accredited Business" icon is misleading at best.
d) The numerous bank links on the website are being used without authorization.
e) The claim that Lance Puig comes from 3 generations of real estate investors is pure embellishment.
f) Lance Puig hires people in the Philippines to write comments and compliments in blogs. They are not real.
g) An leading figurehead of the company and personal advisor to Lance Puig is an federal ex-con:
http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=MICHAEL+& Middle=&LastName=BACHER&Race=U&Sex=M&Age=&x=79&y=8. This shows in everything they do, Lance Puig just hasn't been
imprisoned - yet.
h) Lance Puig/York Street Properties is not a member of the TAA or local apartment assoc. That makes all leases signed with the TAA
lease agreements invalid. According to law, the tenant has a right not to honor agreement/no legal protection for investor.
i) A majority of properties remain vacant because they're in bad, un-leasable condition. The company is broke.
j) Houses are purchased at REO prices (50%), then sold to investors for 90% with minimum remodeling to justify that price.
k) Resale, should the investor be faced with that, is impossible at 90% - not to mention the probable liens on the property.
l) The 40% profit (j, above) is used to support Lance Puig's unjustified lifestyle and foreign online labor (paid at $5/hour).
There are many cases of fraudulent and/or misleading business practices utilized by Lance Puig and York Street Properties, et al. Do you homework before doing any sort of business with this man or his companies. Better yet, why take the risk? In today's economy it's difficult enough to make your hard earned dollars and credit work for you - why add dealing with a broke, unscrupulous and unethical partner to the mix? Don't believe what you read - Lance Puig is a professional at making things look one way, when his representations don't paint the real picture. Last reports have he and his family hiding in their house to avoid process servers.
Do your homework - there's too much to list here - don't leave any stone unturned if you need to prove to yourself that investing with Lance Puig/York Street Properties is a bad move. Don't leave any stone unturned before deciding to do business of any sort with this man and his companies - and if you do; get your money in advance - get your own attorney to verify all contracts - be sure you are protected to minimize loss when the "good faith agreements" are inevitably broken.
I am a Dallas based investor who also works full-time to support my family. I see opportunities all over town and began looking into companies/persons that I could partner with. In my initial searches; Lance Puig, York Street Properties and York Street Homes came up frequently. So I started looking into the company.
My research included the BBB, banks, appraisers, court filings, looking at York Street Properties houses for rent, talking to a couple of renters/aspiring buyers, company employees (they like to talk - disgruntled, earnest or otherwise), County Sheriff's (process servers), a few of the individuals that had posted complaints on the internet, amongst others.
What I discovered motivated me to publish a few of the things I found out. Perhaps then, any hard working investor or company thinking about providing services to Lance Puig and companies would have a place to start their own research (so that an informed opinion and decision could be made on their own). The facts are easily verifiable.
Would I like to reveal my name in this forum? NO THANK YOU. After my first posting I was able to confirm that Lance Puig had allowed homes and investments of friends, business colleagues and family (including his mother) to be foreclosed on due to non-payment of mortgages. That's in addition to the numerous people he has already destroyed. Disregard for the lives, security and well being of people doing business with Lance Puig seems to be a recurring theme. Would I like to subject my family, home personal security to potential harm needlessly - NO! - my finding do not warrant that sort of trust in Mr. Puig. What I found was chilling.
Perhaps an earlier poster, Reidar Klaumann, has a good idea. It's possible that the State Attorney General would be interested in the financial affairs of Mr. Puig. I, however, do not have an actionable claim as I made a decision to stay away from his dealings. Here's contact information for those interested. There seems to be a lot of people harmed or mislead, perhaps a group effort would offer some protections or satisfactions:
http://www.oag.state.tx.us/
Attorney General Greg Abbott: greg.abbott@oag.state.tx.us
Main agency switchboard [protected]
Consumer Protection Hotline [protected]
I'm an above average earner, family man and hard working person trying my best to cope (if not profit from) the bad economy our nation, state and community faces. It's a time to work together, not work against one another. This also includes sharing information that could help fellow community members avoid a potentially hurtful situation. There are numerous credible facts available (as stated in my first post) and the focus of attention should be on those facts, not attacks on yours truly - which is what several of the above posters have decided to do (or perhaps one poster - Lance Puig using different names). Check the facts; check with BBB, check with TAA, talk to numerous service suppliers, contact tenants in York Street Properties homes, verify county records, speak with banks, there are many channels for credible information.
Our country is a beautiful place; we can express our opinions and make decisions freely. The internet and regulatory agencies make it possible to discuss, interact and take appropriate action. For me, I am walking away from Lance Puig and companies. For the parties already harmed, they may like to "band together" and act as they see fit. I hope this forum and my postings help somebody.
Good Luck and Best Regards,
Dallas Investor
READERS HAVE ASK "WHAT IS A PONZIE SCAM ?"
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to separate investors from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned. The Ponzi scheme usually offers returns that other investments cannot guarantee in order to entice new investors, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally high or unusually consistent. The perpetuation of the returns that a Ponzi scheme advertises and pays requires an ever-increasing flow of money from investors in order to keep the scheme going.
The system is destined to collapse because the earnings, if any, are less than the payments. Usually, the scheme is interrupted by legal authorities before it collapses because a Ponzi scheme is suspected or because the promoter is selling unregistered securities. As more investors become involved, the likelihood of the scheme coming to the attention of authorities increases.
Amigo Air can count themselves as one of the very fortunate ones. That leaves more than $600, 000 to go, just with debts to contractors!
Got questions on how HVAC contractors are paid? Contact Mr. Cool, American Mechanical, United Mechanical and many others that have registered complaints with various court systems in the Dallas Metroplex. Their contact information and complaints are readily available... better yet, contact York Street Properties for that information - they have 100's of pieces of correspondence from these companies... though probably discarded, just like investor, tenant and aspiring buyer complaints.
I was asked to re-post the prison record link of Michael Bacher. I hope this works for you:
http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=MICHAEL+&Middle=&LastName=BACHER&Race=U&Sex=M&Age=&x=79&y=8
For all who don't know, Michael Bacher is a long time employee and adviser to Lance Puig.
A BLOG POSTED BY SCOTT LEONARD ON http://themaxonshow.com/2009/01/13/lance-puig/:
QUOTE...
Scott Leonard
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
September 1st, 2009 at 2:32 pm
BM,
That’s very nice that you would stick-up for your boss. Fact is, however, the man is crooked and these statements are about the VERY REAL sums of money that he’s swindled. These aren’t empty accusations, these are facts.
If you’ve been a party to the scam of York Street Properties, you and your family should know that you/they are eating while others are suffering and not eating because of the actions of the company you work for.
I know, you must think we’re rich Americans and can afford it. But we can’t. We also cannot survive and prosper when our credit ratings have been ruined by you scam.
As far as talking is concerned – that’s a joke – victims of the scam including investors, tenants and service providers have send 100’s of emails and left countless telephone messages, which have never been returned.
If the company you work for is honorable it will pay its bills. It’s as simple as that. Touting what a great company this is and what a successful business plan it has doesn’t work with an intelligent audience. Look at your REAL accounts payable, look at the investors properties that have been foreclosed on, look at your boss cowering in his house to avoid process servers, talk to the tenants that have bursting sewage pipes in their house, talk to the tenants that were promised they could buy their homes (not a single promise fulfilled).
If Lance Puig is going to go on radio talk shows, he should expect recourse from all the folks that have supported him in past, but lost. You, ultimately, will lose too. If you care about your family, you’ll lead your life honorably and begin looking for a new job.
There’s nothing false in what’s been said. If what you think is true, then get an AUDITED financial report for your company(s) and present it! If it’s REAL, you’ll be startled at what you see.
...UNQUOTE
In response to a post made by BM:
BM
August 28th, 2009 at 2:04 am
I have been working for YSP for almost 2 years now. Before YSP I been dealing with a lot of outsource company and most of them don’t pay and if ever they do the salary is really low. We are getting a lot of bonuses here and YSP is very generous to us. So I was shocked when someone is saying that YSP is not paying – that is so untrue. There might be a delay for other vendors cause there is a process they need to do before releasing money but they still get their pay.
Without YSP I will not be able to support my Family. We are 8 kids in the family and imagine how YSP can help me to survive our everyday expenses. We help people we make their dreams happen it cannot happen overnight but still we make it happen.
I am not saying all these because I am working for YSP, I am saying this because this is really what is happening. Almost every day I talk to Lance, I can see how he wants to make things better for other people. I know his intentions are all good… he also have a family don’t forget that. He cannot please everyone here but he doesn’t deserve all this bad comments. If you have problems with YSP it’s much better to talk to us and solve the issue than spreading false accusation.
BM
I would agree with point 3 of the Investors comments above. It's highly unlikely that Puig has enough liquidity to pay his bills and with lawsuits that have already been filed and will be filed, it's highly unlikely he will ever pay anybody back.
What's intriguing are the "empty threats" he's making by saying "if you speak up in public I can guarantee you'll never get any money". It's really a silly comment to make, for obvious reasons. (A) If he wants to shut somebody up, just pay them. (B) The courts will decide who gets paid the way things are going, not Puig and his "machinery" (C) As Reidar Klaumann said (above), if the press releases are true and York Street Properties is "strong", then why doesn't Puig hire somebody who can successfully negotiate with the parties who claim injury and debt?
Lacking an action similar to point C, above, Puig appears to have nothing to say and no place to go. Bankruptcy will not quell the criminal complaints. Indeed that will just throw gasoline on the fire. He and his convict "ex" have gone too far.
For what it's worth, I got the same letter from Joseph M. Nathan by email. It went into my spam box and will stay there. What a waste of time.
Michael, I'm really sorry to hear about the troubles you and your family have gone through as a result of York Street Properties. Please know that there are scrupulous investors doing business in Dallas. I have need for a good HVAC Technician from time to time. Please send me an email and I'll contact you next time the need arises.
I have contacted the Specialized Crime Unit and explained the investment scheme that was presented to me. The Dallas County DA's office need more information - please contact them directly or through your legal representative !
I thought the newsletter was excellent. I especially liked this part:
ILLEGAL PROPERTY FLIPPING; is the most common form of mortgage fraud, involving false appraisals and other fraudulent loan documents (US Attorney General, quote)…
ILLEGAL PROPERTY FLIPPING EXAMPLE:
• Perpetrator/house flipper buys a house for $40, 000.
• House flipper has the house illegally appraised for $160, 000.
• House flipper sells house for $160, 000 to a straw buyer who obtained a 80% loan of $128, 000 giving the perpetrator a profit of $88, 000.
• House usually results in delinquency, default, or foreclosure.
• The bank/financial institution is left with a $128, 000 mortgage on a $40, 000 property for a loss of $88000.
• Please see comment by Kendra Appraiser: Lance Puig + York Street Properties — False Representations + Payment Scam
Wade - thanks very much for that post! A particular post by "Tom Burris | FHA VA & Conv. Texas Mortgage Loans (DallasLoanGuy.com)" caught my attention. He said " I haven't seen any of these lately. But at a prior place I worked, we had a couple. Both were averted with a lender field review of the appraisal".
It's my opinion (and a respected local Attorney), that Lance Puig went to specific Lenders that wouldn't do a review of the appraisal. If one Lender disageed with the value he would go to another. We also feel that Lance Puig started to have serious troubles with his scam when Lenders began requiring an "appraisal review" or use of their own Appraisers. Until then, "fraudulent operators" like Lance Puig could more easily manipulate all parties involved to facilitate the scam and mortgage fraud.
Investors definitely didn't have control and evidenced by:
1) Lance Puig chose Lender who wouldn't scrutinize the loan documents [for honesty] too carefully.
2) Lance Puig chose Appraiser (whom he controlled or colluded with).
3) Mortgage payments not made by owner.
4) York Street Properties is not a Property Manager and collected all funds illegally.
5) Tenant leases falsely showed York Street Properties as the owner rather than the "Investor/Straw Buyer".
6) There's much more, but those facts should be revealed in Court rather than here, in public.
Thank you "Wise_Broker" for your input. Your remarks actually give credibility to statements made previously and also in this weeks newsletter.
To summarize; the majority of Investors and others were swindled prior to regulatory and lending institution processes being revised. To combat escalating cases of mortgage fraud more vigilance was necessary to protect financial institutions, as referenced in the efanniemae article you provided.
Points 1 & 2 are actually correct. However, as sited in the newsletter, the new controls (referenced in the article you provided) have greatly reduced mortgage fraud and ponzie scams perpetrated by people like Lance Puig. As testament to that fact, severe cash flow problems for operators such as York Street Properties began in early to mid 2009 (as Investors, Lenders, Service Providers, Tenants and others have testified).
Thank You for your input and the positive information that action is being taken to avert future financial disasters at the hands of operators like York Street Properties. As many very wise people have stated "self regulation by industry has not provided enough controls in past, obviously". The new thinking - increased controls combined with prosecution of past and future offenders is welcomed - particularly by members of this group !
I was contacted by a very nice young lady this afternoon. She told me about all the websites, lawsuits, conversations and latest news.
More to the point, she asked if I needed help with filings or anything else to deal with Lance Puig. I thought that was absolutely fantastic and I offered all the information I could provide. I don't know York Street Properties investors but I'm happy to hear that somebody is looking for them and planning to put together a teleconference soon. Thanks for doing that, I really got a lot out of the conversation !
Wade, your comment on page 8 looks like it will be coming together. I was asked to send an email to yspvictims@gmail.com and identify whether I was and Investor, Tenant, Service Provider or Other in the subject line. It would be a great idea if everybody reading this blog could do the same thing - it would make it easier for the organizers to sort the mail.
Again - Thanks !
THANKS FOR THAT. YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE TO READ THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE (/URL removed/) ... AFTER GIVING FAIR WARNING AND ALL THE REASONS WHY A LAWSUIT AGAINST [redacted] IS SILLY:
Comment: I Know the CDA (Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. § 230) Protects [redacted], But I Am Going to Sue Anyway!
If you have read all of the above information and still want to file a lawsuit against us, there are some other points you need to know.
First, Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and each state court's rules, generally require that all pleadings, including initial Complaints, must be presented in good faith, after a reasonable investigation into the facts and the law, and not made for an improper purpose such as harassment. What this means in plain English is that if you file a lawsuit which you know contains false claims, or if you sue without first conducting a reasonable investigation as to the law as it may pertain to the facts of your case (such as determining the identity of the author of the report(s) you are concerned about), you and/or your attorney can be subject to serious sanctions at the judge's discretion. Many who have sued settled with us and some have paid some or all of our attorney's fees. Other times we have defended the cases for years running up large legal bills for both sides. Either way, we never paid out a dime in settlement or damages to anyone who has sued us.
In addition to penalties a judge may issue, those who would threaten us need to be aware of another law which imposes civil liability on anyone who files a frivolous lawsuit. This claim is known as "wrongful use of civil proceedings" and it is defined by § 674 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts as follows:
(a) he acts without probable cause, and primarily for a purpose other than that of securing the proper adjudication of the claim in which the proceedings are based, and
(b) except when they are ex parte, the proceedings have terminated in favor of the person against whom they are brought.
Because [redacted] is immune from liability under the CDA for defamation-based and related claims, any suit that seeks to impose liability for the speech of our users is, by definition, an action brought "without probable cause". We encourage the prompt and fair resolution of disputes between [redacted] authors and those who are the subject of [redacted]s. However, [redacted] wants to be clear that it accepts no liability for the speech of its users, and it will vigorously defend any litigation brought against us which seeks to circumvent the CDA. In addition, any suit filed against us without probable cause may subject the complaining party and/or their attorneys to liability in the State of Arizona for wrongful use of civil proceedings. We don't mean to sound harsh, but if you knowingly file a frivolous lawsuit against us, regardless of where your case is filed, you and/or your lawyers can be subject to a lawsuit in Arizona in which a jury could, if appropriate, award both substantial compensatory and punitive damages against you.
Finally, you need to be aware that if you file a lawsuit simply to harass us, not only will this not work, it will very likely end up being EXTREMELY expensive for you. Due to the number of meritless cases we have had to defend, [redacted] has adopted a very strict policy about lawsuits -- once [redacted] is forced to appear in a case, it will not stipulate to a dismissal of the case unless the party who filed the action agrees to pay [redacted]'s attorney fees. There will be no exceptions. If you conduct a thorough investigation BEFORE you sue and you believe you have a valid case despite the CDA, it is your right to pursue your case and prove it in court. However, once you file a lawsuit, be prepared to either take it all the way to a decision on the merits or pay [redacted]'s attorney fees because [redacted] will not stipulate to a dismissal without compensation.
Terri - great question. It's highly unlikely that [redacted] will release the information and will also fight the lawsuit with the typical zeal they are famous for. Pushing this to a "higher level" as Lance Puig has done will only increase pressure on him and cost legal fees (money he could be using to pay people).
It's really a rather silly effort. There are over 1000 readers, with over 7000 hits on the complaintsboard blog now. It appears that many people are making comments on numbers of other websites + other real estate fraud websites are beginning to reference this case on their sites. Does Lance Puig really believe he can "quash" the huge number of victims from speaking freely on every website in the US (and world)? If so, then he's a lot less intelligent than even this group gives him credit for.
His disagreeable efforts only increase the level of complaints voiced and written. Agreeable efforts on his part - REAL ONES, BACKED WITH REAL MONEY - is the only way to get what he wants.
Great job by all who have or will send letters to the attorney! That list of claims that Lance Puig made is amazing... he's actually refuting that; he's been robbing Peter to pay Paul, he's paid all legitimate debts, hasn't frustrated debtors, his remodeling isn't substandard, investors haven't lost money or credit, houses have been lost to repossession, vacant properties are in poor condition, his repair and reimbursement system is substandard and York Street Properties investments are unreliable?
Semantics... and a vision that's purely the fantasy of Lance Puig's mind.
Chin - all investors should be as thorough as your firm. Perhaps there would be far fewer unscrupulous operators in business.
As you may know, this Group has approached numbers of citizen action committee's, media and other victims groups. One of there is called TexasVox "The Voice of Public Citizen in Texas": http://texasvox.org/. It's a good group doing meaningful things for Texans.
Tonight they're having a "hoe-down" at the Barr Mansion in Austin. If you're close you might like to stop by. See you there!
MOTION TO COMPEL RELEASE OF NAMES OF ONLINE AUTHORS DENIED.
Lance Puig has been telling everybody that "his lawyers" will take care of the authors on sites like /link removed/ complaintsboard.com and others... yeah right ! When facts are published why would the courts side with a cheap tactic put together by York Street Properties?
In a decision dated November 18th, 2009 the Honorable Edward O. Burke of the Maricopa County Superior Court stated "Plaintiffs' Motion to Compel Third-Party to Disclose Identity of John Doe is DENIED IN ITS ENTIRETY". CV [protected].
Lance you lost and this is a sign of things to come for you. The sad part is that you used other peoples money to file this lawsuit rather than just dealing with people openly and honestly. Your efforts to hurt people that say negative (and true) things about you is not the honorable approach to solve your problems. Paying people the money you owe them is !
Our "hats are off" to David Gingras and /link removed/ - they fought for our 1st amendment rights and won!
Bankruptcy of York Street Properties will not protect the personal assets of Lance Puig when Mortgage Fraud and other acts of fraud are proven.
To all vendors and ex-employees: Please send proof of fraud to: yspvictims@gmail.com
This is a great way to get the ball rolling again. Lance Puig has performed criminal acts and deserves to have his ill-hearted actions follow him for a lifetime. We are here to see that it does, no matter where he is.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Me too, thanks! I must confess, I wasn't really sure what a "Straw Buyer" was so I looked it up. Here's an except and a link:
"A straw buyer is a person who uses or allows their credit to be used for the purchase of a property they never intend to use or control. Straw buyers can also be used to purchase non-owner occupied properties by being paid simply for the use of their credit. The ads on Craig's List look like this" ...
http://activerain.com/blogsview/201194/what-is-a-straw-buyer-
Check it out !
Great newsletter. I have a name and phone number of someone at the Dallas FBI. Kelle Slaughter gave me his contact info. His name is Frank Super [protected]. You of course will still have to file a complaint with the FBI.
I will contact the FBI tomorrow and make a complaint. Just to let you know, LegalZoom.com can also help with small claims court - I spoke with them earlier today. Thanks for the newsletter !
I can tell you in this day and age with lending, you cannot select lenders and use your own appraisals, a year ago you probably could have.
As of May, I believe, all lenders require third party appraisals which would mean the seller and broker do not have any impact on the appraisals, so Dallas Investor your information on the first two points is false.
Here is a link to back up my information, so I stand credible.
https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/guides/ssg/relatedsellinginfo/appcode/pdf/hvccfaqs.pdf
Points one and two are not correct because there are NO lenders that will allow you to use your own appraiser. I'd be amazed if you could find one. Therefore, there is no way to try to negotiate value. Drops in value were due primarily to the market crash. As most are seeing in the real estate world, the values are coming back up.
Actually, as a Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser and State Licensed Real Estate Appraiser, I can tell you that is categorically untrue. Lenders have always had the option of obtaining a 3rd party appraisal, but few did so until the "big bucks in questionable lending practices" was exposed. The sad thing for my profession is we are now tainted because of the way companies (like York Street Properties) manipulated appraisals. I made some specific, factual comments on page 4:
Lance Puig + York Street Properties — False Representations + Payment Scam
Investors in this group are now well aware of who's appraisal was used to justify investment and rental values. I've had numbers of discussions with them and several of their attorneys since the above comment was published. They have records that speak louder than words.
"Dallas Investor", I find your comment to be accurate. Particularly as it relates to time frames. I've been appraising 11 to 20 homes per week for many years now. What's interesting to me is that the honest investors don't seem to have a cash flow problem at all. In fact, they have been strengthened by market conditions over the past year.
I can also confirm the information and statements provided by Dallas Investor and Kendra Appraiser. The remarks by "Wise_Broker" and "Jamie Kendricks" are a bit misinformed and/or designed to be misleading.
By nature, Certified Residential Real Estate Appraisers and State Licensed Real Estate Appraisers, are supposed to be "neutral". However, as has been pointed out a number of times in this blog and repeatedly in the local, national and international news, that's not always the case. Kendra, I respect your sensibilities, honor and ability to distinguish right from wrong.
I also find it rather odd that both Wise_Broker and Jamie Kendricks signed-up at the same time (today) and posted virtually the same information only 28 minutes apart.
I suggest you all read up on investor or loan appraisals period as of May 1st, 2009. You would then see that there is NO way to control the appraiser nor can the seller even talk to the appraiser especially regarding value. So I guess your suggesting all appraisers commit fraud.
Kendra has already admitted that she/he committed fraud if she/he worked for an appraiser who did what she/he claimed.
Exactly Correct F*d by YSP. It's no coincidence that early to mid 2009 marked the rampant beginning of:
* Lenders foreclosing on Investor properties because of non-payment.
* Investors getting badly overvalued properties back with delinquent mortgages and huge repair bills.
* Service Providers not getting paid anything more than hot air (ongoing for years but increasing in recent months).
* Service Providers getting bad faith purchase orders in growing numbers (ongoing for years).
* Tenant complaints piled-up because repair issued weren't taken care of (ongoing for years).
* City Code violations backlogged and ignored (increasing to to lack of funds by YSP)
* Breaches of Contract running rampant.
Changes in the Law and Lender operations marked the beginning of the end for Lance Puig's Ponzi Scam and Mortgage Fraud Scheme. The above list is just a sampling of the after-effects.
! APPLAUSE !
! MORE APPLAUSE !
! > !
To use Lance Puig's words, it appears Wise_Broker is trying to put lipstick on a pig. Any way you look at it intentional, unscrupulous, dishonest, and unconscionable misrepresentation of material fact to the financial detriment of others is a crime.
Why would a wise person defend a position that has clearly cost so many hard working people so much for so long? Hmmmm...perhaps it's Lance Puig dressed up as a Wise_Broker? ... You decide, we've seen this from the Pig Machinery before... oh excuse me, that was a typo, I meant to say Puig Machinery.
This isn't Halloween and this isn't funny. It's serious. The guy owes 100's of thousands, if not millions of dollars to people. Is he prepared to pay what he owes? Highly doubtful, but he's more than welcome to make an offer here or any other place he might like.
If Wise_Broker is Lance Puig or even an ally of Lance Puig, the time for "splitting hairs" to perpetuate your fantasy is over. Get back to Planet Reality.
The facts are; Federal charges have already been filed by one Investor and more are on the way. State and County prosecuting attorneys are investigating and receiving information. BBB has revoked York Street Properties accreditation to prevent others from being duped. Local media is gathering information for an investigative report. Tenant organizations are advised that renting from York Street Properties is dangerous and rent-to-own promises are historically fraudulent.
Group Members, follow that checklist that was sent. Moderator and Group Activists, the time for organizing a planning teleconference has come. I recommend one of the involved attorney's lead the meeting. Those are my thoughts on the subjects.
One thing that we know is that "Investors" (as Lance Puig calls them) at York Street Properties were actually "Straw Buyers" using their good credit to buy houses at 90% of the "appraised value provided to the Straw Buyers". I thought you might like to read an excerpt from the Texas Department of Insurance which discusses Common Mortgage Fraud Schemes.
Nominee Loans/Straw Buyers - The identity of the borrower is concealed through the use of a nominee (i.e., “straw buyer”) who allows the borrower to use the nominee's name and good credit history to apply for a loan. In this scheme, there is the understanding that the nominee will not have make any payments or be out any money.
Other frauds cited in this official website (http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/title/mortgagefraud.html) include (amongst others):
1) Property Flipping
2) Inflated Appraisals
3) Equity Skimming
Without question, there are a lot of agencies now looking to prosecute fraudulent operations (such as Lance Puig's), so there's plenty of help out there.
I'm happy to see the readership is up and we're getting some interesting feedback from varied sources. Grouping together and making your voice heard can and does help. The woman in this story might agree:
"A 52-year-old woman from Gun Barrel City in East Texas was sentenced Monday to 99 years in prison for her involvement in a mortgage-fraud scheme, officials said Monday.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced that Kandace Yancy Marriott was convicted by a Navarro County jury last week of engaging in organized crime activity by pocketing mortgage payments on manufactured homes from clients and then letting those clients default on their loans."
ref: http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/other/03/24/0324mortgage.html
INVESTORS - does this scenario sound familiar? ... Lance Puig taking monthly payments illegally (not property manager), then pocketing the money rather than paying the mortgages or turning the money over to you for proper disbursement? How about homes going into default or being foreclosed on because of Lance Puig's action, as described?
TENANTS - ring any bells for you?
Here's a descriptive publication on mortgage fraud by Mays Business School at Texas A&M University (it's a pdf document):
recenter.tamu.edu/pdf/1846.pdf
Here's an article titled "THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE TAKES MORTGAGE FRAUD SERIOUSLY":
http://www.house.state.tx.us/news/release.php?id=2815
The FBI is mandated to take it seriously and get the crooks out of the "pipeline":
http://usgovinfo.about.com/b/2009/07/09/mortgage-fraud-soaring-fbi-reports.htm
Any doubts about what's been done by Lance Puig?
GREAT ARTICLE MICHAEL - you posted that while I was still reading - A MUST READ FOR INVESTORS & THEIR COUNSEL
Consumer advocacy in this country is a wonderful thing. We now have over 900 registered readers of this blog and every single comment here and on the group email (yspvictims@gmail.com) is appreciated. Be sure to get those claims filed and seek out others that could use our help. We WILL get satisfaction.
Have you heard that Lance Puig's attorney has filed a lawsuit against www.[redacted]s.com to get them to divulge information and remove postings?! I almost fell off my chair in a fit of hysteria and the best laugh I've ever had. Rather than pay the people who have been harmed, then ask them to post retractions, "Sir Lancelot" has decided to use YOUR MONEY, the VICTIMS MONEY to charge into territory he's never going to win (except in his own mind).
You can read the entire [redacted]s attitude towards the subject here: /URL removed/ . Meanwhile here's a couple of question/answer quotes:
QUOTE >>>>>>>>>>
If I file a lawsuit against Rip-off, will that get my complaint removed?
No. [redacted] is not liable for statements posted by a third party, and it has never lost a case involving such statements, so it will not remove complaints even if you sue.
Filing a lawsuit will, however, guarantee the removal of one thing -- a LOT of money from your wallet and into an attorney's pocket.
>>
I want the name of someone who posted an anonymous report about me. How can I get that?
Our Terms of Service require us to protect the First Amendment rights of our users by safeguarding their privacy to the fullest extent of the law. This means that [redacted] will not release the contact information of any user of the website
Lance Puig - we are not as stupid as you appear to be. Let me add a couple of lines from the [redacted] home page (/URL removed/):
FILING A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT & NOTIFYING AUTHORITIES
Many law firms and law enforcement agencies utilize [redacted] to aid in their investigations of business practices. By filing a report, your information may aid in pursing civil or criminal proceedings against companies engaged in wrongdoing.
[redacted] has been contacted by almost every state Attorney Generals office, U.S. Postal Inspectors office, the Justice Department, Homeland Security, FBI, FTC and local and state authorities, including those in Canada, UK, Australia, and other government agencies around the world.
MEDIA ATTENTION
Quite often the media is interested in the reports you filed and ask us to assist in their investigations giving you the publicity needed to help your cause. In the event your [redacted] is of interest to the media, we will put you in contact with them.
We also supply story ideas along with victim information to every network and most local affiliates and to every major TV News Magazine including Dateline, 20/20, 48 Hours, 60 Minutes, Inside Edition, W2 Canada, CNN, along with most major news papers including, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Money, Inc. and hundreds of others.
Lance - thanks for assisting your Victims get more attention!
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Cute Picture - when I saw it the first image that popped into my mind was you and Lance Puig sitting in the middle of traffic exchanging this gesture from 2 separate cars ... LOL
An Investor has made another great suggestion! The FTC is interested to hear about operators like Lance Puig and companies. Here is the contact information:
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Consumer Response Center
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
[protected]
QUESTION: Why would /link removed/ or the courts divulge the names of posting consumers when it’s already been widely reported that Lance Puig “and machinery” are threatening people with an assortment of harm should they speak out against his illegal and unethical business practices?
It's just more silly window dressing for Lance Puig that will go nowhere. We haven't started a blog campaign yet, perhaps we should? Any thoughts on the subject?
KUDOS to all of you for banding together to fight for your rights as you were wronged by this jerk.
I have just read through all the comments with great interest and although, thankfully am not a victim of Sir Pig-A-Lot, just want to let you all know that I am so impressed with your vigilance and camaraderie.
I will continue to follow this story and know that justice will be served and that Sir Pig-A-Lots' lipstick will be stuck up his bowels for "Brutus" to find and perhaps remove! :-)
Keep up the good work!
Stop the Pig - thank you for your insightful and graphic commentary!
Welcome to the Group of growing victims, agencies and consumer rights supporters intent on delivering media attention and justice for all who've been "fertilized on" by the bowels that will soon become the property of Brutus.
Mortgage Fraud hurts everybody and negatively effects the US economy. I'm a tenant and am frustrated by everything that's happened to us since we moved into one of York Street Properties houses.
This morning I took copies of the TREC lease that shows York Street Properties as the owner, a print screen of DCAD that shows anther party as the owner (presumably straw buyer/investor), a copy of code violations, a print screen of the York Street Properties website that promised ownership in 6 months, copies of correspondence to York Street Properties about repairs that need to be done, copies of correspondence asking to buy the house, print screens from several of the fraud websites provided here and print screens of this blog and a few others. These copies looked like a book, but I had 6 sets and took them down to the Dallas DA, the Dallas FBI office, Channel 4 and The Dallas Morning News.
With exception of the "Editor-In-Charge" at DMN, all had heard about Lance Puig and York Street Properties and pledged to keep the investigation active and assured that action will be taken. DMN said they will raise this story at the next editors meeting and look at running a weekend feature story. I'm going to make copies of the "book" and send it to others including the Texas AG's office and several banks (once I get the executive contacts in the mortgage divisions - can anybody help with that?).
York Street Properties is committed to providing cash flow for investors and a unique buying opportunity for the credit-challenged. Our goal is to turn families into homeowners while providing the highest quality of service possible.
We always welcome anyone with an outstanding issue to call us, and have a 24-hour live answering service dedicated to that purpose. Over the past three weeks, a number of York Street clients have made contact with us regarding issues that we worked diligently (and successfully) to resolve as quickly as possible. We encourage anyone with any concerns or issues to contact us directly.
Given York Street’s commitment to collaborative and cooperative issue resolution, we believe the recent series of negative comments posted online at various sites is untruthful, intended to damage the reputation of York Street Properties, and is therefore libelous. After conducting extensive research into the claims made in the online posts, we believe the claims to be illegitimate, as evidenced by the following:
• Tenants mentioned could not be identified or had no outstanding issues with York Street Properties.
• Appraisers had no part in writing the self-incriminating posts alleged to be written by “real” appraisers.
• Investors were surprised when made aware of the claims, dismissing the allegations as “bizarre” and “suspect.”
• Vendors associated with our company said they were contacted by anonymous troublemakers asking for information that could be used to harm York Street.
• The condition of each property is being scrutinized more than ever in this tight lending environment. Claims that remodel work was somehow sub-par would be impossible to get accepted through a bank’s strict underwriting. No bank will lend thousands of dollars to investors unless the collateral is in good shape.
We would like to publicly thank our many customers, investors, tenants, and vendors who have stood by York Street Properties while someone has stolen our proprietary customer data and is using it to attempt character assassination.
York Street Properties has retained legal counsel to represent its interests in these matters. We have begun the process of determining the identities of the authors of the libelous posts and those actors attempting to unlawfully disparage our company. If necessary, York Street is committed to spending time and resources to utilize the full extent of the legal system to protect itself by, if necessary, bringing suit against the perpetrators.
As always, we welcome potential clients to research York Street Properties before doing business with us. In doing so, please be informed of the following:
1. Beware of unofficial, unaudited, unreliable websites that claim they are dedicated to providing an outlet for disgruntled customers. This news report will explain why such sites are misleading at best, untrustworthy at worst:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHAcf1fYknE
2. Understand that the Better Business Bureau is not a government regulatory organization, but rather a privately held company with little oversight and no due process to correct false or libelous reports. More information can be found here:
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/21/business/fi-lazarus21
http://www.bbbroundup.com/SideBySide.html
York Street Properties has posted testimonials from tenants, investors, tradesmen, and vendors that are available at http://www.yorkstreetproperties.com/ and that we encourage you to read in order to obtain a balanced view of our service.
During this process York Street Properties will strive to continue to bring value to its clients and customers by remaining committed to the highest standard of transparency and integrity.
How do you plan to operate York Street Properties from a federal penitentiary?
Who is this yo-yo trying to impress with all this BS? You're talking to the dozens of people that you owe money to; including tenants, appraisers, investors and service providers. Have you looked at of all your recently - we have and we also got dated photos - you should be careful when making false claims.
One minute you stand by the credibility of the BBB but now that they consider you "toxic" you change your tune. When you no longer owe 100's of thousands of dollars to people - when you get back the credit you've stolen from your victims - when you no longer break the laws of the land and decency, THEN you can make the above claims. Not before.
YOU RUINED YOUR OWN CREDIBILITY - NOBODY ELSE.
Obviously Lance Puig is just sitting around trying to perpetuate the illusion (he has in him mind) that he's a successful person with a credible track record... here's a couple of questions for you:
* There are over 40 people talking to you on this chat board that you owe money to - why don't you try paying some of them and;
* Show the over 1100 people (that have read the comments and said it helped them) you're not a crook?
* You'd also show the 100's or even 1000's more that are following this blog that your an honorable person.
Now that's a sensible and credible way to deal with this - wouldn't you agree?
Your feeble and transparent attempts to silence the people you owe money to simply won't work. The world is a small place that rallies around injustice. Support tends to grow when people/companies hurt their business, family and friends. There are thousands of chat rooms, bulletin boards, forums, clubs and other places where conversations and authors congregate every hour of the day. Do you really think you're going to stop people from protecting themselves and their neighbors simply because you don't like it?
To: York Street Official Response
Blah, Blah, Blah...Actions speak louder than words! Put your embezzled money where your mouth is...
You have certainly been offered the opportunity to right the wrong doings you have done that have caused these people to band together and publicy state their case. I'm sure they have better things to do with their lives than arbitrarily seek justice from someone seeming to have a persecution complex.
As a neutral and fair person reading these posts, I find the postings of these people to be credible with detailed evidence showing YOU to be in the WRONG. Stop playing the victim, get off your piggy pitty-potty it's not very becoming or believable.
To the victims of Sir Pig-A-Lot--GO TEAM GO! :-)))
TO: York Street Official Response,
Those statements are outrageous. It's like you are saying to the hundreds of people that are reading this blog "we don't care about the Investors, Service Providers, Tenants and others that have been victimized by you and your company.
Get over the "persecution complex", admit your wrongdoing's and seek resolutions. Be a Man, not a whimp!
I got this advice from one of the moderators of this group. It's worth posting for potential investors:
How to Use the Internet to Invest Wisely
If you want to invest wisely and steer clear of frauds, you must get the facts. Never, ever, make an investment based solely on what you read in an online newsletter or bulletin board posting, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isn't well known. And don't even think about investing on your own in small companies that don't file regular reports with the SEC, unless you are willing to investigate each company thoroughly and to check the truth of every statement about the company. For instance, you'll need to:
* get financial statements from the company and be able to analyze them;
* verify the claims about new product developments or lucrative contracts;
* call every supplier or customer of the company and ask if they really do business with the company + how they pay; and
* check out the people running the company and find out if they've ever made reliable money for investors before.
Here's something that should interest everybody, directly or indirectly. I realize that York Street Properties says that values are impossible to inflate these days (maybe that's why there business is bad), but most in this blog invested before the recent scrutiny of appraisal values:
STRAW BUYER FRAUD
Most common is that someone persuades you to allow them to apply for a loan on your behalf to buy a property for them, which has supposedly appraised for $700, 000. You end up responsible for a $700, 000 loan on a $400, 000 property, and the people who pull this scam walk away with $300, 000 (or more) free and clear.
Source: Searchlight Crusade "What you need to know about mortgages and real estate fraud. And more."
Sound familiar? It also goes on to say that many of the fraud victims are are found via craigslist and blogs with phony info.
ILLEGAL PROPERTY FLIPPING; is the most common form of mortgage fraud, involving false appraisals and other fraudulent loan documents (US Attorney General, quote)…
ILLEGAL PROPERTY FLIPPING EXAMPLE:
• Perpetrator/house flipper buys a house for $40, 000.
• House flipper has the house illegally appraised for $160, 000.
• House flipper sells house for $160, 000 to a straw buyer who obtained a 80% loan of $128, 000 giving the perpetrator a profit of $88, 000.
• House usually results in delinquency, default, or foreclosure.
• The bank/financial institution is left with a $128, 000 mortgage on a $40, 000 property for a loss of $88000.
YEP - that's the York Street Properties formula.
We need the help of all Victims of York Street Properties to help us. Below (bottom) is text that Lance Puig claims is false about York Street Properties and he says is patently untrue.
Please write an email as soon as you possibly can (by Wednesday, October 14th if possible). You can do this anonymously or you can identify yourself, the choice is yours.
TO : david@/link removed/
SUBJECT: York Street Properties
Victims Type: (for example: Investor, Service Provider, Tenant, Ex-Employee, Other)
Please explain your situation, the losses you have incurred, promises made but not kept by York Street Properties, etc, etc.
Also, we know that many writers have made a decision to remain anonymous for an assortment of reasons. Some of those reasons include verbal or written threats, fear of reprisal, fear of additional financial loss, fear for the safety of you and your family, fear the sensitive information provided to York Street Properties will be used against your interests, fear that any hope of recovery may be lost if you are identified, advice from legal counsel that you not speak openly, etc.
If you're an ex-employee or other party that might have insightful information on how York Street Properties has hurt people, please comment on all that you can.
Thank You for your immediate response. Lance Puig has challenged the right of people to speak out as a method to silence criticism rather than making an effort to resolve the many issues that are outstanding. Indeed, he now says that the many issued raised in postings all over the internet are pure fabrication.
PLEASE, WRITE AN EMAIL TO david@/link removed/ He's an attorney at /link removed/ and will keep your anonymity intact. It would be appreciated if you would also cc: yspvictims@gmail.com.
Thank You !
LANCE PUIG CLAIMS THE FOLLOWING IS UNTRUE (clearly paraphrased, but you get the idea):
* York Street and Mr. Puig operate a ponzie-like scam.
* York Street and Mr. Puig purposefully avoid paying legitimately owed debts to contractors and lenders
* York Street and Mr. Puig manipulate their accounting and payment systems in order to intentionally frustrate contractor to the point that they would dismiss outstanding debts.
* York Street and Mr. Puig direct substandard remodeling.
* Investors with York Street and Mr. Puig have lost their investments due to non-payment of mortgages.
* Lance Puig comes from 3 generations of real estate investors is pure embellishment.
* A majority of properties remain vacant because they're in bad, un-leasable condition.
* The company is broke.
* Mr. Puig is unethical and unscrupulous.
* York Street and Mr. Puig refuse to address problems or make necessary repairs to properties.
* York Street and Mr. Puig bill property owners for repairs that were never done.
* York Street and Mr. Puig fail to reimburse tenants for repairs made by them or refund deposits after the lease expired.
* York Street and Mr. Puig lies to tenants by telling them that they could make payments on a home on a rent-to-own basis when such an opportunity has never been available or routinely documented.
* York Street and Mr. Puig have stolen money and/or ruined investors credit.
* Investments made with York Street Properties are unreliable and not well maintained.
* York Street and Mr. Puig have set-up fictitious entities to minimize loss and disguise activities.
* York Street is a criminal organization and Mr. Puig is a criminal.
* York Street and Mr. Puig allow properties repossessed by failing to pay mortgages.