Indicted for bank fraud, property manager Scott Safadi blames owners for mass evictions

Indicted for bank fraud, property manager Scott Safadi blames owners for mass evictions

By Lynda Carson - September 25, 2015

Ghais Scott Safadi (aka - Scott Safadi) of Cal Bay Property Management declared that he is not to blame for the extremely high rent increases and notices to evict the renters at 1111 Douglas Avenue, Burlingame, from their housing since the property was sold recently.

Even though he is the one (his company) who has increased the rents and served notices to the renters, telling them they have to move, Scott Safadi is blaming Justin Bautista, Julie Bautista, and the Brian Henry family, the new owners of 1111 Douglas Avenue, for the mass evictions.

Scott Safadi prefers to blame Justin Bautista, Julie Bautista, and the Brian Henry family for the eviction and displacement of the renters since the rents have been jacked up much higher at the property after the 18 unit building was sold on August13, 2015, because he is just following orders.

Scott Safadi said: “My company manages hundreds upon hundreds of apartments in the Bay Area. We act as agent for the landlords who own the various properties that we manage. We do not own a single piece of rental property. I do not have a single penny invested in 1111 Douglas Avenue, or any other apartment buildings for that matter. We are a third party manager that manages apartment buildings for property owners. The displacement of residents makes our job significantly more difficult from both an emotional and logistical standpoint.”

“Property owners/investors make the ultimate decisions regarding the overall strategy and direction of the property's operations. We simply act as their agent and representative. That being said, it is inaccurate to refer to me as the "landlord" in the context you used. We simply implement the instructions of our clients, the building owners.”

Scott Safadi does not want to believe that he is a “landlord” despite the fact that he is being payed to increase the rents, and displace the renters at 1111 Douglas Avenue, with mass evictions, for Justin Bautista, Julie Bautista, and the Brian Henry family.

Property records for San Mateo County show that 1111 Douglas, Avenue, in Burlingame was sold to Justin Bautista, Julie Bautista, and the Brian Henry family, including the Bautista Trust, and the Brian Henry and Andrea Trust, on August 13, 2015.

According to Trulia, the 18 unit, 18,189 sq.ft apartment building that so many are facing mass evictions at was built in 1969, and was sold for $6,600,000 on August 13, 2015. Additional property records reveal that the City of Burlingame made $7,260 on the sale from the transfer sales tax of the property.

Additionally, landlord, Ghais Scott Safadi, who made the news last week for evicting renters from their housing at 1111 Douglas Avenue, in Burlingame, is scheduled for a conference in court for bank fraud, on September 28 at 1:30pm, Courtroom 4, 5th Floor, 280 South First Street, San Jose. Case number 5:12-cr-00465-EJD-2 - USA v. Scott.

Click on link below…

http://cand.uscourts.gov/CEO/cfd.aspx?7143

Scott Ghais Safadi is scheduled to appear in court on September 28 with his uncle Muhammad Oussama Safadi, and Raquel Ramirez. All three were indicted on June 13, 2012, for bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, making false statements to a bank, and aiding and abetting, according to Melinda Haag, United States Attorney.

On behalf of the renters being displaced, Terry Nagel the Mayor of Burlingame, stated that she wants to have a meeting with Scott Safadi regarding the mass evictions occurring at 1111 Douglas Avenue. According to Jay H. Grossman a resident of 1111 Douglas Avenue, who is a former real estate broker, there is to be a meeting in front of the building at 1:00pm on Sunday, with Mayor Terry Nagel, who will try to mediate on behalf of the renters with Scott Safadi and the new owners. The plan is for everyone to move the meeting to a conference room in the library once everyone arrives for the meeting.

The renters have faced displacement since the building was recently acquired. The displacement scheme involving massive rent increases and no-cause evictions/terminations, is taking place under the guise of building renovations, and some of the tenants have connected with Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto for legal advice, according to The Daily Journal.

“This case is a textbook example of how unfettered real estate speculation is tearing apart our communities,” said Daniel Saver, a housing attorney with the agency. “Within mere weeks of completing the sale, the new management issued mass eviction and rent increase notices. This reflects a business model that is predicated upon displacing working families. There are a lot of good landlords out there, but increasingly we see speculators like these who callously seek to maximize profits at the expense of people,” reported in The Daily Journal.

According to reports, some of the renters are seniors, seven tenants have already officially received no-cause terminations from Scott Safadi, plus two others have moved out, and the remainder have had their rents increase significantly.

But the real tragic plight of so many people being displaced and threatened with homelessness, is that the renters in Burlingame do not have renter protections because Burlingame has an anti-rent control ordinance on it’s books as the law of the land. An unfair law that Cindy Cornell of Burlingame Advocates for Renter Protections wants to see overturned.

The Scheme To Defraud Financial Institutions And Low-Income Home Buyers

As noted above, Scott Ghais Safadi is scheduled to appear in court on September 28 with his uncle Muhammad Oussama Safadi, and Raquel Ramirez, because they were allegedly involved in a housing construction property scheme resulting in a $5,560,050 loss to IndyMac Bank, Fremont Investment Loan, and National City Bank of Indiana. Loans were also financed through Green Point Mortage.

According to the indictment, the Safadis' obtained proceeds from the bank fraud scheme for the construction and sale involving 14 homes, which allowed them to defraud in an amount of $4,570,928. The name of the 14 home subdivision was Rancho Amistoso LLC, in Salinas, California.

Additionally, the scheme to defraud primarily involved low-income home buyers being solicited to purchase single family homes priced in excess of $650,000.

The conspirators knew that for twelve of the fourteen homes being sold that the borrowers they solicited had insufficient incomes and assets to qualify for the mortgages needed to buy the properties being offered.

As part of the scheme to defraud the banks, lending institutions, and home buyers, the Safadi’s referred prospective low-income clients to Raquel Ramirez, being assured that Ramirez, and her employees at Mission Home Realty, were willing to falsely inflate and misrepresent the borrower’s income, assets, and employment information so as to enable the borrower to qualify for the loans needed to buy a Rancho Amistoso property.

According to the indictment, Ramirez agreed to accept a sales commission of 2% and more per transaction, and agreed to do what was necessary to close the sales, in addition to falsify the buyer’s loan applications. Ramirez was assisted by her employees at Mission Homes Realty who served as loan processors, and obtained and submitted the false documents to the financial institutions in support of the loan applications at the direction of Ramirez, and the Safadis.

As an inducement for the unqualified buyers to agree to the loan, some of the buyers were offered a $26,000 rebate that would be paid to the buyers when the deal was closed.

In short, many of the homes later ended up in foreclosure and were sold at a loss costing millions to the financial institutions involved in the scheme.

According to public records with the Secretary of State, the status of Mission Homes Realty and Financial Services is suspended, involving Raquel Ramirez as agent for service of process.

Additionally, according to other public records, the broker license of Raquel Ramirez (License ID: 01368418), of Mission Homes Realty, is expired.

Despite being indicted for his alleged activities, and facing 30 years imprisonment, including a maximum fine of $1,000,000, Scott Safadi is still actively involved in another property scheme that is presently displacing many long-term renters, at an 18 unit apartment building, in Burlingame.

Scott Ghais Safadi is scheduled to appear in court for bank fraud on September 28 with his uncle Muhammad Oussama Safadi, and Raquel Ramirez.

Click below for indictment case involving Scott Ghais Safadi, his uncle Muhammad Oussama Safadi, and Raquel Ramirez.

http://danieldlc.com/state_bar/pdf/RamirezIndictment.pdf

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com


Click on link below for more on Scott Safadi…

https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/09/22/18777985.php


More on Scott Safadi

http://www.corporationwiki.com/California/San-Jose/scott-safadi/111836718.aspx

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More on Scott Safadi

http://www.corporationwiki.com/California/Saratoga/scott-safadi/45102935.aspx

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Properties in San Mateo County owned by Brian Henry, et al, who Scott Safadi manages properties for.

No 
 Document Number 
 Grantee Name 
 Document Type 
 Recording Date 
 View Details 
1.
2010-002823
HENRY BRIAN
DEED
1/12/2010
View Details

2.
2011-097529
HENRY BRIAN
DEED
8/26/2011
View Details

3.
2011-108522
HENRY BRIAN
RECONVEYANCE
9/20/2011
View Details

4.
2012-060851
HENRY BRIAN
RECONVEYANCE
5/1/2012
View Details

5.
2013-094735
HENRY BRIAN
DEED
6/25/2013
View Details

6.
2013-101600
HENRY BRIAN
RECONVEYANCE
7/10/2013
View Details

7.
2012-181431
HENRY BRIAN & ANDREA TRUST
DEED
12/4/2012
View Details

8.
2014-061438
HENRY BRIAN & ANDREA TRUST
DEED
7/11/2014
View Details

9.
2014-078299
HENRY BRIAN & ANDREA TRUST
DEED
8/29/2014
View Details

10.
2014-090001
HENRY BRIAN & ANDREA TRUST
DEED OF TRUST
10/3/2014
View Details

11.
2014-090001
HENRY BRIAN & ANDREA TRUST
AGREEMENT
10/3/2014
View Details

12.
2014-090001
HENRY BRIAN & ANDREA TRUST
FINANCING STATEMENT -- U.C.C.1
10/3/2014
View Details

13.
2014-095316
HENRY BRIAN & ANDREA TRUST
DEED
10/20/2014
View Details

14.
2014-104298
HENRY BRIAN & ANDREA TRUST
DEED
11/13/2014
View Details

15.
2015-085561
HENRY BRIAN & ANDREA TRUST
DEED
8/13/2015
View Details

20.
2012-181431
HENRY BRIAN K TR
DEED
12/4/2012
View Details

21.
2014-061438
HENRY BRIAN K TR
DEED
7/11/2014
View Details

22.
2014-078299
HENRY BRIAN K TR
DEED
8/29/2014
View Details

23.
2014-095316
HENRY BRIAN K TR
DEED
10/20/2014
View Details

24.
2014-104298
HENRY BRIAN K TR
DEED
11/13/2014
View Details

25.
2015-085561
HENRY BRIAN K TR
DEED
8/13/2015
View Details


No 
 Document Number 
 Grantee Name 
 Document Type 
 Recording Date 
 View Details
 
26.
2015-097035
HENRY BRIAN K TR
RECONVEYANCE
9/11/2015
View Details

27.
2014-090001
HENRY BRIAN TR
DEED OF TRUST
10/3/2014
View Details

28.
2014-090001
HENRY BRIAN TR
AGREEMENT
10/3/2014
View Details

29.
2014-090001
HENRY BRIAN TR
FINANCING STATEMENT -- U.C.C.1

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