MIAMI (WSVN) - A South Florida family that moved into a new home for the holidays could soon find themselves homeless after they discovered that their investment was part of an elaborate real estate scam.
Fredy Asevedo said he used money he had been saving to move his family into a new home in Miami just in time for Christmas. Now they are stuck with a holiday headache.
When asked whether this was his Christmas gift to his loved ones, Asevedo replied, “Yeah.”
But instead of gifts and holiday cheer, Asevedo and his family are surrounded with anxiety and uncertainty.
“Para Christmas, nothing, nada,” he said.
“It seemed real, but it wasn’t,” Asevedo added in Spanish.
Asevedo thought he found a new home for his family.
He signed a lease, deposited $3,000 into a bank account for first, last and security, and then he moved his wife, son, sister-in-law and her son into their new home.
But things quickly started to unravel when the man Asevedo knew as the real estate agent starting asking for more money.
“He came to me just yesterday, on the 24th, and he told me that he had a major problem,” said Koby Litowich, Asevedo’s boss. “That’s when I started looking into it, and we realized that he had been scammed.”
According to the lease, the so-called real estate agent, Joseph Willet, represents Invitation Homes.
Litowich said he made some calls, and as it turns out, Willet is not real — and neither is his lease.
7News attempted to call Willet, but it appears to be a number that is no longer in service. His Plantation office address turned out to be fake.
“It was definitely a sophisticated scam,” said Litowich.
The swindle has left Asevedo and his family on Christmas with no money and no idea how long they’ll have a roof over their head.
“We’re trying to get the funds together to help the move, but it’s expensive, it’s a process,” said Litowich. “There’s a first, last and security that’s needed, and he’s tapped out right now.”
In a statement issued Wednesday, a spokesperson for Invitation Homes wrote, “We are always frustrated to discover that one of our homes has been used for these types of scams, which can have a devastating effect on the victims. Our goal, as always, is to offer quality homes and ensure our residents have great experiences. We encourage any consumer interested in renting one of our homes to contact us directly via our website at www.InvitationHomes.com. In addition, we offer information on fraud prevention at www.invitationhomes.com/fraud-prevention.”
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