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Stonebridge mortgage scammer gets prison time, fine
John Barry faces 25 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
By Danny Gallagher, McKinney Courier-Gazette
A Florida man accused of scamming hundreds of thousands of dollars out of prospective McKinney homeowners will serve time in state prison.
Barry is accused of using 10 homes on Hills Creek Drive sometime before December of 2006 to dupe homeowners into paying more than the home’s actual worth. Investigators believe he would purchase the property near the actual market value and use fraudulent appraisals to sell the home at an inflated price.
He would obtain the fraudulent prices from home appraisers who investigators believe were also in on the scam. Elizabeth Tava Altizer and Pamela Sue Ford have each been indicted for their alleged role in Barry’s deals. They each received a first-degree felony indictment of using false statements to obtain property/credit last May, according to Collin County court records.
Once Barry had an interested buyer willing to give them the money for the false price, he would take the money under the agreement he would use the proceeds to repair the property and perform upkeep on the home.
Federal investigators also believe Barry has committed similar home scams across the city and the state that involve at least 50 other homes. FBI Special Agent Mark White of Dallas said he could not confirm or deny the existence of any ongoing investigation.
Contact Danny Gallagher at dgallagher@acnpapers.com.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
S.M. wrote on Jul 16, 2009 8:56 AM:
" Check your facts. You've missed or misstated several things in your article. "
MUST-BE wrote on Jul 19, 2009 10:59 AM:
" ...THESE PERSONS MUST BE EX-CITY OF MCKINNEY EMPLOYEES OR FROM THE MCKINNEY CITY GOVERNMENT...
...MCKINNEY CITY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS CAN DEMAND UP-TO $50,000.00 PER BUILDER IF NEEDED TO LINE THE POCKETS OF OTHERS... "
...MCKINNEY CITY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS CAN DEMAND UP-TO $50,000.00 PER BUILDER IF NEEDED TO LINE THE POCKETS OF OTHERS... "
GET IT STRAIGHT wrote on Jul 21, 2009 5:29 PM:
" Fact check:
1) It was Judge Nelm s on the bench sitting in for Judge Brewer
2) Mr Barry did not use the monies to fix up the homes - never,ever
3) The only upkeep monies used were to hire a crew to mow the yards at some of the houses one summer- a weak effort, at best
4) Mr. Barry didn't have to 'wait for a buyer' - the strawbuyer was already picked and the house sales normally moved from the legit owner to a 'trust' into the strawbuyers name on the same day
5) The Hills Creek subdivision also includes Shady Oaks - bringing the total of flips in the Hills Creek area to 12
6) The Hills Creek area was not the only Collin County area, or even Stonebridge area, where Mr. Barry did his evildoing - and make that 90+other homes, other than Hills Creek - over five counties...Mr. Barry's average take was $200,000 per home flip times approx 100 homes - you do the math "
1) It was Judge Nelm s on the bench sitting in for Judge Brewer
2) Mr Barry did not use the monies to fix up the homes - never,ever
3) The only upkeep monies used were to hire a crew to mow the yards at some of the houses one summer- a weak effort, at best
4) Mr. Barry didn't have to 'wait for a buyer' - the strawbuyer was already picked and the house sales normally moved from the legit owner to a 'trust' into the strawbuyers name on the same day
5) The Hills Creek subdivision also includes Shady Oaks - bringing the total of flips in the Hills Creek area to 12
6) The Hills Creek area was not the only Collin County area, or even Stonebridge area, where Mr. Barry did his evildoing - and make that 90+other homes, other than Hills Creek - over five counties...Mr. Barry's average take was $200,000 per home flip times approx 100 homes - you do the math "
GET IT STRAIGHT wrote on Jul 21, 2009 5:30 PM:
" 7) the FBI has been aware of Mr. Barry since late 2006 or early 2007 - since they were first notified until Mr. Barry was tried, Mr. Barry flipped approximately 60 more homes in the DFW area. Unfortunately the FBI has been busy focusing on the 'terrorist threat' while Rome burned.
8) The Collin County prosecutors office did a tremendous job of putting together their case - resulting in a 25 year sentence for a white collar crime. WAY TO GO. I am so tired of hearing that these mortgage fraud criminals are found guilty and given sentences of 24 or 48 months or 64 months and a lot of them never do any time in jail. On top of getting the 'kingpin' of the mortgage fraud organization they obtained confessions from the people that made these flips possible - appraisers, title company personnel, strawbuyers, notaries, etc. Damn they are good!! "
8) The Collin County prosecutors office did a tremendous job of putting together their case - resulting in a 25 year sentence for a white collar crime. WAY TO GO. I am so tired of hearing that these mortgage fraud criminals are found guilty and given sentences of 24 or 48 months or 64 months and a lot of them never do any time in jail. On top of getting the 'kingpin' of the mortgage fraud organization they obtained confessions from the people that made these flips possible - appraisers, title company personnel, strawbuyers, notaries, etc. Damn they are good!! "
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