Tri-State Holdings-32, LLC, and principals Brandon Miller and Tony Caldwell, are the subject of a lawsuit for allegedly running a scam house-flipping business. The suit alleges that they quickly flipped homes and sought new buyers to purchase homes already sold to other consumers who had stopped paying. Existing homeowners often found that deeds had not been recorded in their name, offering no protection from the house being resold out from under them.
According to the lawsuit, Tri-State sold Kansas City-area homes purchased at delinquent tax auctions, offering to renovate the homes, resolve the back taxes, and transfer them to new owners for an up-front payment of $500, plus additional payments of $399 per month. The average price of the homes the company offered for sale was in the $30,000-$40,000 range.
At least 22 consumers who purchased homes from Tri-State but whose promised renovations went uncompleted. In some cases, back taxes were not resolved. Additionally, Koster’s lawsuit asserts that the Tri-State has sought evictions of consumers for failure to pay on houses that the company had not renovated to make habitable. The majority of the victims are low-income. The consumers identified to date have reported losses totaling approximately $35,000.
Tri-State’s business model was to quickly flip homes and seek new buyers to purchase homes it had already sold to other consumers who had stopped paying. Existing homeowners often found that deeds had not been recorded in their name, offering no protection from the house being resold out from under them.
Jackson County Judge Sandra Midkiff entered a temporary restraining order that prohibits Tri-State from marketing or selling homes, evicting consumers from homes, or removing personal property from homes. Koster’s lawsuit asks the court to order a permanent injunction and restitution for the company’s consumer victims.
Attorney General Chris Koster announced the lawsuit.
“This company preyed on low-income consumers hoping to find the American dream — a home of their own at a price they could afford,” said Koster. “Instead, they found themselves in a nightmare of false promises and stolen money.”
Brandon is the son of Jeff Miller who was found guilty of mortgage fraud in about 2008. He was sentenced to 9 years in federal prison but appealed and served only 6 years. He was sent back to prison for 3 more years shortly after his release because he was caught plotting this operation with his son Brandon.