A Broker Ran a $5 Million Real Estate Ponzi Scheme

How One Agent Faked 3 Offers to Keep a $3M Listing

A seller lists a $3 million home. The listing is close to expiring. Then suddenly, three offers come in on the same day. Great news, right? Not exactly.In this episode of True Crimes of Real Estate, Troy Palmquist and Summer Gorlick break down the case of an agent who fabricated three offers, created phantom buyers, used real broker and agent information, and tried to manufacture a bidding war to buy herself more time on a listing. One fake offer even opened escrow before the whole thing started to fall apart.The sellers got suspicious, started calling brokers directly, and uncovered that the buyers were not real. From there, the supervising agent, broker, civil settlement, and California Department of Real Estate all became part of the story.This case covers fake offers, broker supervision, ZipForms audit trails, DRE discipline, consumer red flags, and the real consequences of real estate fraud. Follow on IGhttps://www.instagram.com/truecrimesrealestate [https://www.instagram.com/truecrimesrealestate]https://www.instagram.com/tpalmquist [https://www.instagram.com/tpalmquist]https://www.instagram.com/complianceneversleeps [https://www.instagram.com/complianceneversleeps] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit truecrimesofrealestate.substack.com [https://truecrimesofrealestate.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

A Broker Ran a $5 Million Real Estate Ponzi Scheme

In this episode of True Crimes of Real Estate, we break down a real fraud case involving a licensed broker, fake property deals, fake documents, fake escrow accounts, and millions of dollars gone. What looked like legitimate real estate investing was actually a years-long Ponzi-style scheme that ended in federal prison. We get into how the fraud worked, the red flags investors missed, how the money moved, and what brokers, agents, and consumers should be watching for before wiring funds. Follow on IG https://www.instagram.com/truecrimesrealestate [https://www.instagram.com/truecrimesrealestate] https://www.instagram.com/tpalmquist [https://www.instagram.com/tpalmquist] https://www.instagram.com/complianceneversleeps [https://www.instagram.com/complianceneversleeps] #realestate #truecrime #realestatecompliance This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit truecrimesofrealestate.substack.com [https://truecrimesofrealestate.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]