Buyers scammed out of $200,000 in closing costs for bogus property, Georgia cops say
UPDATE: The 23-year-old man was arrested March 28 and taken to jail, according to the Gwinnett County Police Department.
The original story continues below.
Two people thought they were purchasing property, but ended up losing $200,000 instead, according to Georgia authorities.
Gwinnett County police are still searching for the accused fraudster one year later.
The 23-year-old man from Fairburn faces multiple charges, including four counts of theft by deception, in the real estate scam, police said in a March 20 news release. Authorities said he remains on the run.
The victims contacted police in January 2023 to report that they were swindled out of more than $100,000 each, the department said. They believed they were buying property in Ellenwood from an ad they saw on Facebook Marketplace.
The “seller” convinced them to wire thousands of dollars to a supposed law group that he represented, according to police. They buyers showed up on their respective closing dates and realized they had been scammed.
The 23-year-old’s whereabouts were unknown as of March 20, authorities said.
Ellenwood is about a 20-mile drive southeast from downtown Atlanta.
This story was originally published March 20, 2024 at 1:03 PM with the headline "Buyers scammed out of $200,000 in closing costs for bogus property, Georgia cops say."