AUSTIN, Texas – University FCU here said it has finalized home purchases for 11 Hispanic families victimized by local home purchase fraud.
UFCU reported the mortgage loans it made will allow the homeowners to retain residences they bought earlier this decade in what turned out to be a scam according to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.
Attorney General Abbott said the fraudulent home sales were conducted by Robert L. Flores of Cedar Park and a company he operated, Galindo Trust. Abbott successfully sued Flores and Galindo Trust and permanent injunctions with civil penalties totaling $1.4 million were ordered against the defendants in May of last year. Abbott said the scam targeted Hispanic home buyers who do not speak English, some of whom lacked Social Security identification or other documents normally required of purchasers.
UFCU mortgage lending officer Yvonne Lopez-Noack helped many of the families to gain financing of their homes through conventional means with a legitimate title. UFCU stepped in after another UFCU employee, Monica Muñoz, became aware of the situation in the fall of 2006 and suggested that the credit union investigate how it could help.
A call to Attorney General Abbott’s office led to meetings with Volunteer Legal Services of Travis County and conferences with the defrauded homeowners. In the home-selling scheme, Flores’ company sold homes that he bought as a group from a healthcare organization, which financed his purchase. Flores then re-sold the homes but did not tell the buyers of the pre-existing liens he owed.
UFCU will provide fixed rate mortgages and a property deed to the homeowners and will escrow funds for taxes and insurance for timely payment. Closing costs for the new mortgages can be added to the loans to avoid any cash expense to the borrowers. The homeowners will pay only the balance actually remaining owed to the original lender on their individual homes following foreclosures that were part of the Attorney General’s legal action against Flores and Galindo Trust.
