FBI cracks down on foreclosed-home strippers
by Peter Corbett - The Arizona Republic
Despite efforts to stop them, former owners of foreclosed homes are stripping and plundering the houses and frustrating hard-working neighbors who watch helplessly as property values fall.
Northeast Valley resident Stacey Huscher was stunned when a former neighbor brought in a crane earlier this month to remove a hot tub from the backyard of his foreclosed home.
"It's making the whole real-estate nightmare even worse," she said of home strippers.
A task force led by the FBI has targeted distressed-property owners who rip out cabinets or lighting and plumbing fixtures to sell as the banks foreclose on their homes. Five people have been arrested by the FBI Mortgage Fraud Task Force. But the problem appears to be widespread, and law enforcement is limited in its jurisdiction.
Huscher and other northeast Valley residents say they have reported the apparent thefts to police, but no action was taken.
Scottsdale resident George Day said he and neighbors reported apparent home-stripping thefts in April from a home in McCormick Ranch.
Scottsdale police spokesman David Pubins said officers responded and took no action because they determined that the homeowner still had title to the home.
"When a homeowner is still shown as having possession of (their) home and they choose to remove items that diminish the home's value, the bank that will take possession in the future can choose to deal with it as a civil matter," Pubins said.
"If there is proof that the bank owns the home on a particular date and the previous homeowner returns to remove fixtures after that date, it rises to the level of a criminal nature."
Julie Halferty, supervisor of the FBI Mortgage Task Force, said that home-stripping thefts can be reported to the FBI at 602-279-5511 or to px_cashback@ic.fbi.gov.
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