A Michigan senior citizen embroiled in a fake “rent-to-own” house scam and, as a result, faced eviction in 2021, will now have the opportunity to buy the dream home. The grandmother, who worked with her local housing court to come up with an agreement, will use donations from an anonymous donor to purchase the home flat out.
June Walker will not be losing her three-bedroom bungalow.
Last year, the 65-year-old was endangered by being put out of the house she thought was her home. She reportedly started paying $550 a month in 2019, to a man who reportedly claimed to work for her landlord.
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That landlord had offered her a “land contract” with an option to buy a lease that was tailored specifically to fit her needs according to her income on what she thought was a $15,000 house. Believing it was hers, she poured thousands of dollars from her savings and her disability check into upgrades in the home.
The fake agreement suggested her last payment, supposedly giving her full ownership of the house, was in April 2021. But that didn’t prove to be the case.
“When I made the last payment,” she reflected. “I was running around the house, just thanking God. I was a homeowner.”
In June 2021, she realized she was being scammed, after the actual owner of the house, a Florida-based real estate company called Boccafe LLC, contacted her with an eviction notice. Walker had been a victim of a con job that took advantage of people with compromised credit and low income.
Her plight made national news, as platforms like NBC News and Outlier Media launched an investigation into finding the culprit of this manipulation. A GoFundMe was set up for her with the aim to raise $25,000 but stalled at $1,731.
Laura Jackson, who set up the page, begged people to contribute, saying in December, “The time is drawing near to send funds to Ms. June. Please share or consider donation as the case will go before the courts early 2022.”
