Real Estate Broker Accused of 'Foreclosure Rescue' Scheme in RI

A complaint filed in Providence Superior Court names Seyboth’s various companies – The Seyboth Real Estate Team, Inc., Preferred Property Solutions, and Red Balloon Capital, LLC – as well as Chris Messier of Preferred Property Solutions, and Lowell Williams, described as a “foreclosure agent” for Seyboth, as defendants.

“The Seyboth Team has a well-deserved reputation as a top real estate agent in Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts,” a spokesperson for The Seyboth Team said in a statement to the Globe on Thursday. “We deny the allegations in the complaint and remain confident that the facts of the case will demonstrate that the Seyboth Team acted lawfully. We will not comment further on pending litigation.”

Prosecutors are “seeking civil penalties and injunctive relief, including annulling the sale and returning the home to its original owners,” officials said.

According to court documents, Jean Marie Delva and Marie Delva, two Haitian immigrants with “extremely limited English proficiency,” defaulted on the mortgage on their Pekin Street home in May 2023 and owed about $62,000. The home had a market value of $450,000 at the time, officials said.

In the complaint, plaintiffs allege that one of Seyboth’s employees approached Marie Delva outside her home in June 2023 and asked her what price she could consider for her home. Marie Delva said she was interested in reverse mortgages and the employee gave her a business card and said someone would contact her, officials said.

“Shortly thereafter, on June 9, 2023, Seyboth’s associate Lowell Williams texted Joana Delva, Marie’s daughter, proposing a plan in which Williams and Preferred Property Solutions would add their names to the title, pay off the existing mortgage balance and would develop a new mortgage. payment plan, and then return exclusive ownership to the Delvas,” prosecutors said in the statement.

During a July 24, 2023, meeting with an attorney associated with Seyboth, the Delvas were “presented with a series of documents that the family believed was a refinancing agreement,” officials said.

“Unbeknownst to them, the documents completely transferred the title of their home to Preferred Property Solutions,” prosecutors said. “Additionally, the defendants did not provide interpretation or translation services as allegedly requested.”

Upon signing the paperwork, the Delvas sold their home for $100,000, the complaint said.

“The Delvas proceeded to make mortgage payments to Seyboth’s company Red Balloon Capital for the coming year, believing they had refinanced their mortgage,” the statement added.

Seyboth put the house up for sale on July 3, 2024, with an asking price of $450,000, prosecutors said. Since Neronha’s office filed its complaint, Seyboth and the other defendants have agreed to take the house off the market, at least pending a hearing on a requested preliminary injunction, officials said.

“The alleged behavior exposes the depths to which some people will sink to make a living, robbing the Delvas of the place they called home for decades,” Neronha said in a statement. “And more broadly, it is not news to anyone that we are facing a serious housing crisis, and this alleged behavior is only exacerbating our housing problems, forcing families already in financial need onto the streets.”

Court records show the case is scheduled to appear in court on December 6.

Christopher Gavin can be reached at [email protected].