Due to the scale and scope of this fraud ring, it would be highly interesting to redo the inland sales figures backing out suspected/known fraud houses.
With potentially 2000 plus homes concentrated in the Temecula/Murrieta area, they literally were the market for the last two years. They bought enough of the monthly share that their homes were basically ascertained to be used as comps for the follow-on months.
I wonder what the odds are that this ring accounted for 50% of the home sales in those communities in any given month? Or even 25%? Even 10% will sway the market drastically.
Can you imagine the reaction of any jury of people that are actually struggling with rent or their mortgage payments when the ring leaders and plaintiffs are shown to be manipulating 10, 25, or maybe 50% of the local housing market activity?
Can you imagine the rage at the people that were stuck in bidding wars? Or of Joe and Sally homeowner when they discover every home they looked at that sold before they could bid and then as used as comps for their purchase were all these fraudulent homes?
If the scale and scope is what has been purported, they all will need a change of venue because there will be literally, no one in the area, that hasn’t been screwed over by we didn’t understand investments.