AUSTIN, Texas–The $840-million University FCU said it has stepped in to provide assistance to 10 Hispanic families victimized in a local home purchase fraud.
The credit union said it will provide mortgage loans that will allow the homeowners to retain their property, which they bought earlier this decade “in what turned out to be a scam operated by Robert L. Flores, Jr. of Cedar Park, Texas.”
Earlier this year, Flores and his company, Galindo Trust, were successfully sued by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and permanent injunctions with civil penalties totaling $1.4 million were ordered against the defendants last May in Austin.
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. In the fraudulent home-selling scheme, Flores’ company sold homes that he bought as a group from Shriners Hospital, which financed his purchase.
Flores then re-sold the homes but did not tell the buyers of the pre-existing liens he owed. He also collected for taxes and insurance but failed to pass on the payments.
A call to Attorney General Abbott’s office led to meetings with Volunteer Legal Services of Travis County and conferences with the defrauded homeowners by UFCU.
UFCU is offering to charge its mortgage portfolio interest rate as of the time the loan applications were first prepared fall 2006 and will not charge some typical fees like an appraisal by using the Travis County Appraisal District valuation on the homes.
The homeowners will pay only the balance actually remaining due to the Shriners on their individual homes following foreclosures that were part of the Attorney General’s legal action against Flores and Galindo Trust.
