Hard Money Lender Scams
Hi there,
So, I am new to investing. In the past 6 weeks, I've been able to buy property from motivated sellers and sell it for a very large profit. AS a result, I applied for private funding with willie stevens with posh realty investors. I was able to be approved for $100,000 based on an executive summary, my drivers license, and copy of my utility bill. NO bank statements, or proof of my business financials were required. I got approved for 100k and he is offering me 5% interest rate. Pay back within 1 year. The paperwork looks legitimate. ITs 3 pages long that outlines the terms. It is going to cost me $3,900 which is an up-front loan processing fee.
Does this funding seem legitimate? I don't want to be scammed into someone getting me to wire them $3,900 to their bank account. What are other signs for private money scammers?
@Lynnette E. Hello my husband and I own posh realty investors llc we are real estate investors/flippers. We are not hard money lenders. Someone has stolen our business information and my husband Willie Stevens information and is impersonating us with fraudulent activity. Our website is www.poshrealtyinvestors.com we will be going to the police to report this fraudulent activity and identify theft. Thank you
@ Alexis Stevens
Sorry that this happened to you. I hope you can resolve this issue. The name of the scammer in my case was William/Willie Stevens from NSBInvestors14 from New Smyrna Beach FL. The website looked legit but there was language barrier because I could barely understand him in either spanish or nigerian thick accent during very brief conversations. Also, another red flag that I shoulda noticed was his incorrect grammar with emails and texting. My case is still pending with the St Charles Police Department IL and Volusia County Sheriff Department FL.
@Bryan Tecson thank you for the information I am also sorry this happened to you we are going to the authorities to put an end to this. People should not be able to impersonate and hurt others.
Don’t feel bad, @Alexis Stevens. We went through this last year. Read this: Private Lending Direct LLC is a SCAM and I Own the Company
There are several places you should report this to protect yourself, but the authorities have bigger fish to fry and will do nothing. Your husband must get his name around to ensure that anyone who does a search will know about the identity theft issue.
Scam websites, which use the name of legitimate, licensed companies are unfortunately common and written about here frequently. I know this is an old thread, but those above who think they can simply look a license or LLC up, and believe they are speaking to a real company representative, are naïve.
As long as investors are willing to borrow from online strangers, this fraud will continue and is almost impossible to stop. Real estate clubs, face-to-face (or now Zoom-to-Zoom, I guess), are the safest way to find legitimate lenders. Refusing to send up-front money or your personal credit info to strangers is another.
@Jeff S.Hi Jeff thank you so much for your support can you provide us with the places we need to contact to report this we definitely want to make sure people are aware and I’m so sorry this happened to you also. People are finding more creative ways each day to commit fraud.
I won’t write much publicly, @Alexis Stevens, but happy to communicate offline or even over the phone if you send a PM to my inbox.
In my experience, law enforcement will not investigate, so the main purpose of reporting is to protect yourself in case someone comes after you for committing a crime. This could be either the authorities (unlikely but you never know) or a scammed borrower.
The obvious places to report are your local police and also the FBI (thru their IC3 website). There are others and there are other steps you should follow.
@Alexis Monroe Hard Pass!!! That screams scam.