Deed Fraud Case Puts Latino Family at Risk of Losing Home.
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Families in East Hampton, New York, are fighting to keep their homes after they say they were tricked in a fake home sale. The New York Attorney General’s Office has asked a judge to pause the family’s eviction while they look into the case. The family says they were victims of deed fraud, which means someone gave them a fake document that looked like they owned the house, but they really didn’t.
One family, led by Juan Amon, thought they had bought the house in 2020. They paid over $300,000 as a down payment on an $800,000 home from a man named Michael O’Sullivan. Amon said this house was their dream and a symbol of their hard work in America.
Their lawyer, Oscar Michelen, explained that the seller, O’Sullivan, gave the family a deed to make it look like the house was theirs. But behind the scenes, O’Sullivan never really gave up the title, which is the legal proof of ownership. Even worse, the house was already in danger of being taken by the bank because of unpaid loans.
Later, O’Sullivan bought the house back from the bank using a different company he owns. Michelen says this was the trick. O’Sullivan knew the bank would take the house and then sold it back to himself for a lower price, leaving the family with nothing.
The family has a deed with their name on it, and public records show that. But O’Sullivan’s lawyer says he didn’t do anything wrong and that there was never a real sale.
The nonprofit group OLA of Eastern Long Island said this isn’t the first time this has happened. Many Latino families in the area have been tricked in similar ways. In fact, more families are coming forward now with their own stories.
For now, the Amon family can stay in the home while the judge decides if the Attorney General’s office can move forward with their investigation. Juan Amon says he just wants what is fair, to stay in the house he worked so hard for.
