Our dear friend, Lynn Wiedmer, 57, of Glen Head, lost $504,000 in a real estate scam this month, one strikingly similar to the one described in the New York Times Real Estate Section on Sunday, January 3rd . She is now struggling to move forward without the house she planned to buy and without her life savings.
This is something that could have happened to anyone . We're trying to get the word out so no one else is affected and we'd like to help Lynn get some of her life savings back.
Lynn was paying cash for a house in Glen Cove. She was in contract with the seller and had already turned over the $56,000 down payment to her attorney, who was holding it in escrow.
The closing was set for January 10th.
On December 30, 2019, Lynn received an email from her attorney saying, in essence, we’re ready for the 1/10 closing. Please wire the balance due, $504,000, to my account immediately. Here are the routing and account numbers. It said, “I’ll be on jury duty, so you won’t be able to reach me by phone.”
This email looked legit. It appeared to be from her lawyer, had all the correct names and figures and even copied the real estate agent representing Lynn. There were enough details that Lynn did not question it. She went to her bank and had them execute the wire transfer.
But the directive/email wasn’t real. One letter in her attorney’s email address had been changed. The same was true for the email address of the realtor. The email addresses were “spoofed.”
When Lynn learned she had been scammed, after New Year’s Day, she reported the crime immediately to her bank, to the Nassau County Police Department (it’s being handled by the Major Crimes Unit) and to the FBI.
Though neither of the investigating bodies have provided solid information, she was told by her bank that funds went from one account to another to another and left the U.S., which makes them untraceable.
She will not get her money back.
Lynn's story:
Lynn Wiedmer is a middle class woman who worked in banking and, a few years ago, took time off to care for an elderly aunt and uncle to whom she was very close. She lost her parents when she was very young and was married and divorced in her early 30’s. Since then, she has been single, someone who worked, spent time with friends and family, and lived a relatively quiet life, traveling to Europe occasionally, but otherwise living modestly and saving her pennies. She is a happy, generous person who loves gift-giving and is always there in a pinch.
After Lynn’s aunt and uncle passed away, she made plans to go back to work and started searching for a new home, ready to make a new start. She would finally leave the rental apartment she had lived in since the end of her marriage when she and her husband had a house. After a lengthy search, she found a modest three-bedroom colonial that was affordable. It needed a bit of work, but she believed it was perfect for her.
Now, she has no house and virtually no funds left. (She still has not received her deposit back from the seller.)
Her future is in jeopardy. She continues to rent her small apartment, but is in completely different financial circumstances than she was.
Going forward, she hopes to find work, but her dreams of owning her home are gone. The devastation of this predicament has left her unsettled to say the least. Friends have started a “Go Fund Me” account to help her get back on her feet.
This is something that could have happened to anyone . We're trying to get the word out so no one else is affected and we'd like to help Lynn get some of her life savings back.
Lynn was paying cash for a house in Glen Cove. She was in contract with the seller and had already turned over the $56,000 down payment to her attorney, who was holding it in escrow.
The closing was set for January 10th.
On December 30, 2019, Lynn received an email from her attorney saying, in essence, we’re ready for the 1/10 closing. Please wire the balance due, $504,000, to my account immediately. Here are the routing and account numbers. It said, “I’ll be on jury duty, so you won’t be able to reach me by phone.”
This email looked legit. It appeared to be from her lawyer, had all the correct names and figures and even copied the real estate agent representing Lynn. There were enough details that Lynn did not question it. She went to her bank and had them execute the wire transfer.
But the directive/email wasn’t real. One letter in her attorney’s email address had been changed. The same was true for the email address of the realtor. The email addresses were “spoofed.”
When Lynn learned she had been scammed, after New Year’s Day, she reported the crime immediately to her bank, to the Nassau County Police Department (it’s being handled by the Major Crimes Unit) and to the FBI.
Though neither of the investigating bodies have provided solid information, she was told by her bank that funds went from one account to another to another and left the U.S., which makes them untraceable.
She will not get her money back.
Lynn's story:
Lynn Wiedmer is a middle class woman who worked in banking and, a few years ago, took time off to care for an elderly aunt and uncle to whom she was very close. She lost her parents when she was very young and was married and divorced in her early 30’s. Since then, she has been single, someone who worked, spent time with friends and family, and lived a relatively quiet life, traveling to Europe occasionally, but otherwise living modestly and saving her pennies. She is a happy, generous person who loves gift-giving and is always there in a pinch.
After Lynn’s aunt and uncle passed away, she made plans to go back to work and started searching for a new home, ready to make a new start. She would finally leave the rental apartment she had lived in since the end of her marriage when she and her husband had a house. After a lengthy search, she found a modest three-bedroom colonial that was affordable. It needed a bit of work, but she believed it was perfect for her.
Now, she has no house and virtually no funds left. (She still has not received her deposit back from the seller.)
Her future is in jeopardy. She continues to rent her small apartment, but is in completely different financial circumstances than she was.
Going forward, she hopes to find work, but her dreams of owning her home are gone. The devastation of this predicament has left her unsettled to say the least. Friends have started a “Go Fund Me” account to help her get back on her feet.