The Saint Paul Foundation Warns of Fraudulent Use of Its Name in Homeowner Fund Scam

The Saint Paul Foundation has issued a warning to the community about the fraudulent use of its name as part of a homeowner fund scam. The foundation has learned that an individual has altered one of its grant forms, misrepresented himself as an agent of the foundation and fraudulently collected more than $30,000 from people in Minnesota.

The foundation reports that in January, this individual from outside Minnesota met with groups of people to claim that the foundation had a fund to help people of color buy homes, and that for a fee he would process an application on their behalf. The foundation has no such fund and this individual is in no way connected with the foundation. The foundation has discovered this same individual has continued to make solicitations as recently as this week, collecting fees ranging from $86 to $3,000.

"We would never charge a fee for a grant application and we do not make individual homeownership grants," said Carleen Rhodes, president of The Saint Paul Foundation. "We are very sorry that people in Minnesota have been victims of this scam, and feel terrible that the foundation's name and reputation were used to play on people's dreams of homeownership."

As a result of this scam, the foundation is making all its online forms and brochures tamper-resistant, is cooperating with the Attorney General's office on the investigation, and is alerting the community through individual outreach, its own publications and the media. The foundation encourages people to call its main number, 651/224-5463 or 800/875-6167, with any questions about legitimacy of programs and forms. The foundation does not employ any individual agents to act on its behalf.

The individual in question first came to the Twin Cities at the invitation of a local builder who was interested in helping potential low-income homebuyers. He distributed brochures and held seminars at a local real estate firm and collected a substantial amount of money from people in Minnesota The individual struck again recently, working with a local mortgage broker who believed the offer of funding for homeownership was legitimate.

Victims are encouraged to file a report with their local police or county sheriff's office. Information on fraud avoidance is available on the Minnesota Attorney General's Web site.

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