Tricks property scammers use and how to avoid them

Sandy Huffaker / Corbis via Getty Images A married couple who entered the United States from Mexico on tourist visas have been sentenced for their roles in a sophisticated real estate scam that involved selling homes they did not own and laundering approximately $US1 million ($1.4m) in proceeds. Victor Hugo Villalobos Almazan and Nayeli Noemi Montoya Rodriguez were sentenced to 27 months and 10 months, respectively, in the U.S. District Court of Southern California after pleading guilty to posing as legitimate property owners and using forged documents to sell homes they did not own to unsuspecting buyers. In 2023, Villalobos and Montoya, both Mexican nationals, posed as the homeowners of two San Diego properties and made nearly $US1 million ($1.4m) from the sales. The pair sold 3873 36th St., a 7,000-square-foot (650 sqm) lot with an abandoned home on it, for $US400,000 ($553,000), which was actually owned by the Mary Q. Cam trust. They posed as trustees of the estate by using an email address that appeared similar to the name of the trust, according to their signed plea agreement. After selling the property, they had unsuspecting buyers Daniel Magy and Luen H. Lau transfer funds ...