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Home Equity Stripping: How Scammers Steal Homes
Aug 28, 2025
Arizona AG sues Edward Trenton Albarracin and Gretchen Marie Zamshan for allegedly stealing hundreds of homes via equity stripping. Victims were tricked into transferring deeds, believing they were trusts. The AG seized millions to return to victims. Slow down, and consult trusted advisors! #EquityStripping #ForeclosureScam #RealEstateFraud
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is the second case of this in the past
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few months. So, we know this is
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happening. So, no charges yet in this
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case, but the AG says she has seized
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millions of dollars for victims in this
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scam that spanned years. The flyers
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promised relief for homeowners facing
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foreclosure like Susan Tley Lupo.
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They took complete advantage of me.
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Susan's not alone.
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The offer of help was a lie and it was a
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trap. Arizona Attorney General Chris
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Maize is suing Edward Trenton Alvarez
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and Gretchen Marie Zamjan. She says they
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stole at least hundreds of homes using
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dozens of shell companies.
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The defendants told these homeowners
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that they had to temporarily transfer
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the deed to their home in order to save
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it. The homeowners were led to believe
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that the deeds were going into family
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trusts or living trusts.
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They weren't actually trusts. They were
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LLC's controlled by the defendants.
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By signing, the homeowners unknowingly
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gave away ownership of their homes.
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It's called equity stripping. It often
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starts with a public foreclosure notice.
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Once that's posted, people pounce,
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knocking on victim's doors and tricking
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them into signing over their homes for
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way less than the actual value.
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It's a big property. We reported on a
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similar case of equity stripping in May
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when May sued 70 people in companies for
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consumer fraud and racketeering. She
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says Cameron Jones led that network that
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included title companies and attorneys.
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He just said that he could help get it
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out of foreclosure.
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He's taken
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far more than my home, my memories,
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my heart. May said that case against
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Jones led to this new lawsuit.
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Albert Rassen at one point was working
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with Cameron Jones and his associate.
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And Maize believes there's still more to
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uncover.
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It is highly likely that there are
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hundreds of these scammers roaming the
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streets of Maricopa County trying to
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steal people's homes.
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Susan's still fighting to save hers. I
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pray every minute of every day of every
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second about this. It's a little
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one-story townhouse, but it's my home
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and I love it. It's perfect for me and
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um I'm not letting go of it. In this new
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case, Maize says her office has seized
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assets, including cars, homes, and bank
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accounts worth millions of dollars. The
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goal is to return that money or property
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to victims. We did try to get in touch
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with the defendants in this case. I was
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able to reach Gretchen by phone. She
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referred me to her attorney. I called
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him. He hasn't responded to any of our
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questions. Uh but we're going to
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continue to report on this and raise
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awareness. Uh the key here takeaway that
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we want everybody to be aware of. If
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somebody comes and knocks on your door,
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if somebody feels like they're
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pressuring you and you are already in a
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precarious financial situation, slow
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everything down. Go through a trusted
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real estate agent, trusted attorney. Do
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not sign things that you do not know
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what you're signing.
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Right. Oh my goodness. I cannot imagine
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what those people are going through.
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That is so awful, Susan.
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