EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Seventeen people, all members of the same family, are suing an El Paso couple who they allege convinced them to invest thousands of dollars in a fraudulent house flipping business model.
Gabriel Perez, who is representing the family, said they all invested over $300,000 with the defendants, Daisy Ramirez and Luis Ramirez.
Irma Thome, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, alleged she specifically invested $10,000 with Daisy Ramirez, who she said promised her a 40 percent return on her investment within 55 days.
Thome said she was never paid within the time accorded by a signed contract.
“So we met her, and she explained how she and her husband were buying properties and flipping homes. And the husband, as a real estate agent, would sell them, and then we’ll get that 40 percent profit on the amount that we invested,” Thome said.
Thome claims her son and late husband previously invested with Daisy Ramirez in a similar house-flipping model and were promptly repaid, which built trust in Thome and her extended family.
She and the family were supposedly paid back for the first investment before it went all downhill.
Thome said her money was due almost a year ago. During that span, she said she’s exchanged text messages with Daisy Ramirez, who she alleged has given her multiple excuses for why she couldn’t pay her back.
“She was doing it good, so we got to trust her,” Thome said. “So obviously, you believe and we fell for it and she just suddenly stopped paying and gave the runaround like, ‘Oh, you know, my bank is telling me that I’m withdrawing too much money and I have to slow down.’”
Thome also alleged that Daisy Ramirez sent her electronic and Automatic Clearing House transactions that never went through, and checks that her bank was unwilling to cash out.
Thome and her family aren’t the only alleged victims. El Paso County search records show there are nine lawsuits filed against Daisy Ramirez. Luis Ramirez is only named as a defendant in three of those lawsuits.
Thome said she never had any contact with Luis Ramirez.
Benjamin Law Firm, which is representing Daisy Ramirez, offered the following statement.
“Ms. Ramirez categorically denies the allegations brought against her and denies any wrongdoing. Ms. Ramirez is committed to cooperating fully with the legal process and to working toward a fair and just resolution of these matters. At this stage, there has been no finding or admission of guilt, and Ms. Ramirez is entitled to the presumption of innocence, as guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution the laws of Texas. We respectfully ask the public and the media to avoid rushing to judgment and to allow the judicial process to proceed fairly and without speculation or prejudice. At this time, Ms. Ramirez asks for privacy for herself and her family as the judicial process moves forward.”
Luis Ramirez offered a separate statement on his own behalf.
“I hereby state that I have never met or held business with any of the plaintiffs in this matter. I have not signed, authorized, or consented to any agreement, commitment, or promise to pay, nor have I maintained any professional or personal relationship with the plaintiffs involved. My inclusion in these total of 3 lawsuits is erroneous and without basis. A motion of removal was filed in one of them already, one has been disposed of and one remains pending. I have attached the complaint for the pending suit and you can confirm I am not mentioned in it. Nevertheless, this misrepresentation has enabled the media to inappropriately associate my name and image with the matter.”
Gabriel Perez, Thome’s attorney, said he added Luis Ramirez to the lawsuit as a defendant because they allege only he had the required real estate license to sell properties.
“We did some research. And so, when I found his Multiple Listing Service and license, we added him to it because you can’t sell the property without a real estate license. So they were obviously operating in tandem. Daisy would solicit the money and then they were, in theory, buying properties and selling them through Luis,” Perez said.
Perez said this is just one of two pending lawsuits he has filed against the couple, but added that he is working on filing a third lawsuit with another alleged victim.
“At this point, we know we’re not going to get the money back. And if we do, that will be great. But it’s just about accountability. She needs to pay, and she’s still scamming people,” Thome said.
Read: Read More