EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — More than 35 homebuyers have filed a lawsuit against Sierra Title Company, alleging they were defrauded out of more than $1.7 million in down payments and monthly payments for homes they never received.
Victims claim they were lured by Facebook advertisements for homes and directed to contact individuals who arranged meetings at Sierra Title offices on Mesa Street and Lee Trevino Drive. According to the lawsuit, these locations were used to lend an appearance of legitimacy to the transactions.
Prospective buyers were allegedly asked to bring down payments ranging from $15,000 to $50,000 to the meetings, where payments were made to individuals and employees of Sierra Title. The buyers were told the homes would close within 30 days. None of the promised closings occurred, and the plaintiffs say their money was never returned.
“These individuals called them to the offices of Sierra Title, even though the two were not employees at such a Sierra Title, but because they went to Sierra Title, they thought that everything was legitimate. It’s like going to church and then the priest telling, you know, that this is a good deal. Of course, you think that that Sierra Title wouldn’t do anything to them, but in fact, they gave their down payments down and even some of the Sierra Title employees higher up vice presidents and the like were there with these two individuals taking in the money,” said David Morales, the attorney representing the victims.
In the case, the two individuals being named alongside Sierra Title are Federico Aguirre and Eduardo Romo, who Morales said were not employees of the company but would use the offices to conduct transactions.
“Sierra Title is important here because they let this whole thing happen under their roof… They’re claiming that ‘Well, we didn’t know what was going on,’ but yet these people had keys to their offices. They were in and out of Sierra Title even during work days. People would see them coming in, and people would come in and take the $20,000, $30,000 yet they claim, you know, that they didn’t know anything about it,” said Morales.
Attorneys representing the victims say they are seeking full restitution and holding Sierra Title accountable for the actions of those allegedly operating out of its offices.
“They assured me that all my transactions were going to be accurate, and all my funds were going to be disbursed correctly, so I believed in them. When I came to find out that it was a fraud scheme is when I actually tried to ask for my closing date because they wanted me to pay rent, and I told them I wasn’t renting, like I’m purchasing a property for my family and my kids to live with. So, I needed a closing date, and I called other Sierra Title companies. I went to the one on Mesa, I called others Sierra Title companies, and they said that my contract didn’t exist, that they didn’t have any record of my $20,000 ever being deposited. I came across, other victims, all women, they all told me that they were going through the same situation,” said Jeffrey Rangel, one of the victims being represented.
Rangel said he and others staged a protest outside Sierra Title on Mesa and posted videos on social media platforms documenting their experiences which were met with retaliation.
“Mr. David Fuentes, the vice president from Sierra Title on Mesa, asked me to take down the videos or he was going to sue me for defamation. I told him all we wanted was our deposits back so we can move along. They promised me my money at one point, but they never delivered. Instead, they sued. They sued me for $1 million,” said Rangel.
Along with Rangel, Diana Ramirez said she is also being sued after she spoke out against Sierra Title.
“We were selling the home, and we thought it was legit. Everything was going good until we met the realtor who introduced us to an investor who had an interest in my house. He took more than six months to actually close, which we were willing and we wanted to do. We wanted to close. We wanted to get surgery done. We needed to close. Well, come to think about it, he gave us a security deposit at Sierra Title and with that signature that my mom gave as the receivers check they changed the title to the potential buyer’s name already, and they just took it off. They never closed,” said Ramirez.
Ramirez is battling cancer and said she planned on using the money from the home sale to pay medical expenses.
“We’re still fighting. I’m fighting for my life every day. Fighting to get up every day and still fighting for my home. I mean, I’m at a home that isn’t mine because it’s under somebody else’s name. It’s stressful not knowing if they’re just going to show up and ask us to leave because it’s not our home, it’s a struggle,” said Ramirez.
In a statement to KTSM, John King, CEO of Sierra Title Company Inc., said:
“It is our understanding that certain long-established customers requested as a courtesy that an employee of Sierra Title Company, Inc. allow them to sign documents on Sierra premises, and to act as a Notary Public for the signatures on certain of those transactions. These acts were in violation of Sierra’s Best Practices Policies, and the employee in question resigned. Sierra regrets that any of its employees acted outside their scope of employment but cannot comment further on active litigation.”
If you think you have been a victim and would like to join the civil lawsuit, the law office of David J. Morales can be reached at 915-999-3404.
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