‘We Buy Ugly Houses’ Fraudster Gets Prison in $40M Scheme To Rip Off Investors

The former owner of the Dallas franchise of "We Buy Ugly Homes" was sentenced more than 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to carrying out a multimillion-dollar real estate scheme that stole money from dozens of investors.From 2018 to 2024, Charles Carrier defrauded investors out of more than $39 million by falsely claiming the money would be used to acquire, renovate, and resell properties through the HomeVesters "We Buy Ugly Houses" brand. In reality, the funds were being used for personal expenses and payments to earlier investors. In effect, Carrier ran an elaborate but haphazard Ponzi scheme, forging multiple deeds and selling properties without informing investors. An investigation by ProPublica found that in some cases, Carrier took as many as five loans out on one property at a time.Homevestor's "Ugly Houses" model targets distressed properties and motivated sellers, offering an all-cash offer. HomeVestors then quickly flips the property for a profit or resells it to another investor. The "ugly" in the name refers to targeting "ugly" situations, such as divorces, deaths, and foreclosure threats. Typically, homeowners are trading a top-dollar deal for a quick transacti...