CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte man was sentenced to more than six years in prison for his role in a real estate fraud scheme that led to some people becoming homeless.
Dennis S. Lepka Jr., 42, was sentenced to 78 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $2 million in restitution for his role in the scheme.
The FBI launched an investigation into Lepka's business after receiving a tip that he was misleading sellers and buyers of residential properties. Lepka promised sellers he would buy their homes and take over their mortgages. In some cases, Lepka told people he would stay on the mortgage as a credit repair service and assured buyers they were in a rent-to-own agreement. In reality, Lepka didn't own the properties he was selling.
Lepka allegedly concealed information about existing mortgages from the buyers and didn't tell banks holding the mortgages about the transactions. He required buyers to put down "substantial" down payments and then make monthly payments to him. However, prosecutors say Lepka didn't make the mortgage payments to the original lenders and multiple homes were foreclosed. This led to some of his victims becoming homeless.
Investigators discovered that Lepka was targeting Hispanic communities because of folks' immigration status. He believed victims who weren't legal residents would be reluctant to report the fraud. He also told the victims they should trust him because he was a Christian. Victims testified that Lepka's appeal to their faith lured them into the fraudulent deals.
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