The 60-year-old Jose Luis Fernandez made a sizable investment with Reality Golden Group’s Ybis Del Carmen, whom he had known since 2012. Elderly folks frequently fall victim to real estate scams. But with someone he knew by his side, Jose wasn’t very concerned. He had no idea that this choice would cost him everything he had saved.
WPLG Local 10 News reported that Fernandez granted Ybis complete access to his Truist Bank corporate bank account. He put his trust in her to handle transactions for him on six foreclosure homes worth about $842,000. Additionally, the woman gave him documentation proving the numerous sales, which totally dispelled any uncertainty Jose might have had.
But as it turns out, it was all a ruse, part of a complex scheme to commit real estate fraud. Del Carmen stole over $1.6 million from the 60-year-old Sunny Isles Beach, Florida man, but he never bought any of the properties.
Fernandez started to urge her for his money, and she kept coming up with reasons to put it off, which is how the incident started. According to the man, I lost everything, WPLG News said.
The site claims that the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department finally took Del Carmen into custody. She is currently being charged with grand theft and organized fraud. The inquiry is still underway, and the authorities believe she may have stolen from investors other than Jose. Those who are aware of her crime have been urged to report any incidents anonymously.
This case has raised awareness of the growing number of real estate frauds once more. At least 9,359 real estate scam reports were made in 2024 alone, with the majority of victims being elderly, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report.
The total loss to the consumers from all of the cases was more than $173,000 million. People over 60 are particularly vulnerable to these schemes, according to the survey. Data from the previous year shows that consumers in this age group filed at least 1,765 complaints, totaling an astounding $76.324,236 in losses.
Five legal guidelines to help you steer clear of fraud while purchasing real estateTEvau731M4 (pic.twitter.com).
June 24, 2025, Timi Agbaje (@timiagbaje_)
Seniors are frequently singled out since they are generally kind and trustworthy. They also typically have strong credit, a home, and funds, all of which attract scammers, the FBI stated when discussing scams in general.
Because a scammer like Del Carmen only needs to pose as the responsible agent and then falsify some sale paperwork, it is simpler to target real estate frauds. Making these documents is also not that hard because anyone can download public records and alter them to appear authentic. This swindle might even fool younger individuals.
So, how can you tell if someone is defrauding you? The first warning sign is if the home you plan to buy looks like too good of a deal. A quick background check or a lookup of typical local housing costs would validate everything in this situation.
It is sufficient to pull out right away if the property is off-market, which is defined as not being posted on MLS. Verifying your agent’s license is the next step before approving any transactions. Finally, reviewing your documentation.
The ideal option, according to experts, is to just engage a real estate lawyer to go over all the documents and contracts on your behalf. Although taking these precautions does not ensure that there will be fraud, they would undoubtedly stop it before it occurs.
