This article on a federal investigation of mortgage fraud said that an "investor, Wayne A. Lee" purchased townhouses in a Woodbridge subdivision at high prices. The Wayne A. Lee to whom the article referred is not real estate agent Wayne A. Lee of Buyers Advantage Real Estate Corp., in Woodbridge, who coincidentally has the same name.
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FBI Probes Virginia Mortgage Scam
Damion Coates and Michelle Holzhauer discovered by accident that the house they rented in the Villages at Rippon Landing was in foreclosure, one of several in the subdivision that were bought and resold quickly to buyers who defaulted on mortgage payments.
(Photos By Dayna Smith -- The Washington Post)
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But Khalid Mirza, the real estate agent, said Iqbal's story was false. He said Iqbal approached Saeed Mirza and said his sister-in-law wanted to buy the townhouse. Khalid Mirza said Iqbal asked him if it was a good investment, and he answered, "You're buying it at a very high price." He said he drew up the sales contract as a favor to his friend, Saeed Mirza, and received no commission.
"I'm not involved, and my company is not involved," he said.
Saeed Mirza said that he never offered to make the first three mortgage payments and that Iqbal wanted to buy even after he was told the price was high.
Another investor, Wayne A. Lee, bought four townhouses in the subdivision in late 2006 for $570,000 and a fifth for $580,000. Two of those properties were purchased from Zak Ahmadzada, who paid $418,550 and $426,700 just months before, according to land records.
Today, three of Lee's homes are in foreclosure and listed for sale for less than $350,000. Lee declined comment Friday on the advice of his lawyer.
Another person, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern for his safety, said he was offered an opportunity to buy a townhouse in the subdivision for about $450,000 and then to sell it for about $580,000. He was told he could keep about $45,000 and the buyer, mortgage broker and real estate agent would split the rest. He was advised by a banker not to take part in the deal.
These sales and foreclosures have disrupted the lives of families not involved in the transactions. Damion Coates and his fiancee moved from Florida to Rippon Landing in March. Every month, Coates said, he deposited his $1,700 rent into a Wachovia bank account under the name of owner Jose Medrano. He said he told Nadin Samnang, the real estate agent representing Medrano, that he wanted to meet with Medrano but was never able to do so.
Land records show Samnang and two family members bought that townhouse and two others three days apart in late February and early March for about $460,000. Three weeks later, they sold them, making more than $100,000 profit on each.
Messages left on Samnang's work and cellphones went unanswered. His brother, Nady Samnang, said the siblings bought up "undervalued" homes, fixed them and sold them. He said he didn't know whether any of the three homes was fixed up. Medrano could not be located for comment.
Coates recalled that one day, a man who said he represented a lender came to the door, thinking Coates was the owner, and told him he was $10,000 behind in mortgage payments. Afterward, Coates said he called Nadin Samnang, who assured him everything was fine.
But weeks later, on Oct. 26, Coates said he accidentally opened a letter addressed to Medrano. It said the property was in foreclosure and would be auctioned Nov. 7. He decided to move.
"It's horrible. . . . At the same token I'm trying to keep a good attitude. It could have been worse," he said. "The bank's the real one that's getting scammed."
News researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.
