Scam victims rented foreclosed homes

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Three women who thought they were getting good deals on rental homes have told KRQE News 13 they were being scammed by a bogus landlord passing off foreclosed properties as his own.

Melinda Shisler said she paid Ernest Garcia a $400 deposit for a home in northeast Albuquerque.

"He said it was utilities included but you had to pay the water," Shisler said.

But when she pressured Garcia for the keys, she said Garcia gave her the runaround.

Shisler then learned that her friend Alma Robles had also given Garcia a $250 deposit for the same house.

But News 13 has learned that Garcia doesn't even own the foreclosed house. Real Estate agent Tim Tourville was selling the house and says it appears someone kicked in the back door.

Tourville said he had to fix the door and change the locks.

"I'm assuming he came up, saw that it was vacant and, 'OK, this is the house I'm going to try to rent out.'" Tourville said.

Shisler and Robles said Garcia would always go to the back of the house to get inside.

Garcia also rented a southwest Albuquerque house to Hope Garcia for $400 a month.

She said she signed a lease and lived at the house for two months before a real estate agent came knocking saying it was a foreclosed property and she shouldn't have been living there. Ernest Garcia didn't own that house either.

"I don't have a home for my son," Hope Garcia said through tears. "I'm living with my boyfriend's brother."

The homeowner who just purchased and moved in to the northeast Albuquerque home has since posted a note on the house saying "This house is not for rent, you are being scammed." She's also called police.

News 13 was unable to contact Ernest Garcia. Court records show he has a long criminal history that includes shoplifting, aggravated drunken driving, larceny and escaping from the community custody program.

He's due in court next week.