A former title company executive who can’t account for $1.1 million tied to various home sales was ordered Thursday to stop working immediately in the title insurance business.
Arthur M. Vasquez, 37, was president of AltaVista Title Co., which shuttered last month. The firm billed itself the nation’s first Latino-owned title company and touted its Spanish-language title-insurance and house-closing services under the motto “Juntos Prosperamos,” or “Together We Prosper.” AltaVista is now accused of ripping off the community it pledged to serve.
The now-defunct firm and Vasquez, its majority owner and president, are also the targets of investigations launched by the Colorado attorney general and the Colorado Real Estate Commission. Vasquez is licensed to sell real estate in Colorado but not title insurance. Colorado Insurance Commissioner David Rivera issued Thursday’s order.
“My full-time job right now is to make sure everyone gets their money back,” Vasquez said Thursday.
Also being investigated is AltaVista’s former senior vice president and escrow account manager, Laura Martinez. In a letter to state insurance officials dated April 6, AltaVista attorney Eric Accomazzo stated that Martinez “may have inappropriately utilized escrow funds.”
Martinez, who is not licensed to sell title insurance, said Thursday that she resigned from AltaVista because she didn’t feel comfortable with some of Vasquez’s “business transactions.”
“I in no way benefited personally from the money that is missing,” Martinez said. She is now vice president of Title Guaranty Agency in Denver and is seeking a license to sell title insurance.
Stewart Title Guaranty Co., based in Houston, considered AltaVista a “limited agent” that could solicit title insurance business and collect premiums and other money connected to real estate closing transactions. Stewart Title filed suit against the firm and Vasquez in Denver District Court last month. Stewart Title is on the hook for ensuring some AltaVista customers get the money they’re owed and in turn is seeking repayment from Vasquez and AltaVista’s assets.
“Stewart Title does not want to make any statements that may disrupt or interfere in these investigations,” said Mike Skalka, the company’s attorney. “We are cooperating fully with these investigative governmental authorities.”
But Stewart Title has not said whether it will “step outside its contractual obligations” to make sure everyone harmed by AltaVista’s financial mismanagement will be paid what they’re owed, Deputy Insurance Commissioner Erin Toll said.
Some sellers may never see thousands of dollars in proceeds from the sale of their property unless “Stewart steps up to the plate,” Toll said. She cited one woman who has yet to collect $28,000 from the sale of her house.
Vasquez is devising “plans to make customers whole” but declined to give further details. AltaVista customers who believe they have lost money are encouraged to make claims. A hotline will be activated next week to take customer calls, Vasquez said. The hotline’s number is 303-455-6500, but it won’t accept complaints until Monday, he said.
Staff writer Christine Tatum can be reached at 303-820-1015 or ctatum@denverpost.com.
