Florida Files Complaint Over Land Buying Scheme
Florida AG Pam Bondi filed a complaint against Property Solutions International Corp, Premier 1 Property Inc. and Marvin Scott for allegedly defrauding consumers out of thousands of dollars.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – June 8, 2015 – Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a complaint against Property Solutions International Corp, Premier 1 Property Inc. and Marvin Scott for allegedly defrauding consumers out of thousands of dollars.
According to the complaint filed last week, the defendants promised consumers a property selling price that was many times the land's actual value. In exchange, the defendants charged an upfront fee that averaged $2,250 for brokering the deals. At times they promised to refund most of the money but, according to Bondi, rarely followed through on the promises.
The defendants contacted potential sellers using unlicensed telemarketers that said that they already had buyers ready to purchase the properties. In one case cited in the complaint, the defendants contacted a senior citizen and told him they could sell his $4,000 property for nearly $30,000, after an upfront fee of $1,300.
In most cases, the defendants told consumers that the upfront fees would be used for attorney's fees, closing fees, transfer fees, title fees, broker fees, deed fees, administrative fees, assessment fees and to advertise the properties on its websites.
In a typical sales pitch, the defendants said that 200 million people viewed their websites, CoastToCoastland.com and FSBOPropertySolutions.com. However, Bondi says those numbers are "inconsistent with the websites' traffic estimates."
The complaint seeks restitution for 34 complainants that allegedly paid more than $70,000 to the defendants. The defendants also conducted business using the names Coast To Coast Land and FSBO Property Solutions.
© 2015 Florida Realtors® All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Jim Hood
According to information in the BBB files, it appears that the company is no longer in business. The phone numbers the BBB had for this company are disconnected, and directory assistance does not have a listing for this company. The BBB’s mail to this company has been returned as undeliverable. If you have an unresolved dispute with this company you may wish to seek legal advice.
Marvin Scott, Manager, is also the President of FSBO Property Solutions, which currently maintains a “F” rating with BBB and President of Property Solutions International Corp.