A former Aspen couple has been accused of bilking consumers across the United States out of upfront fees for real-estate development loans that never materialized.
Instead, Donald Sterling Whitlock, 39, and Erin Reese Whitlock, 40, transferred the money to their personal accounts, the Colorado attorney general’s office claims in a civil lawsuit filed in Denver District Court.
According to the complaint, beginning in April 2007, the Whitlocks formed at least 15 companies to deceive consumers into thinking they would receive a real-estate loan from legitimate and well-known companies.
The Whitlocks’ companies contain names similar or identical to the lending subsidiaries of prominent companies such as ING, American International Group, Allstate, Axa and General Electric, according to the allegations.
Using the fraudulent companies, the Whitlocks allegedly engaged in an “elaborate and sophisticated practice” of deceiving consumers by having them deposit upfront commitment fees of up to $35,000, which the consumers thought would result in their receiving real-estate loans.
Because of the credit crisis and dearth of financing options, the Whitlocks’ practices “have been very effective and lucrative,” according to the lawsuit.
Mike Saccone, spokesman for the Colorado attorney general’s office, said that so far 10 victims have been identified, including three in Colorado.
The losses so far are more than $100,000, Saccone said.
Saccone said that as far as he knows, the Whitlocks — who so far have been sued only in civil court — are not in custody.
However, he said the attorney general’s office is sharing all its information about the couple with agencies that might be interested in pursuing criminal charges.
He said Attorney General John Suthers was granted a temporary restraining order against the couple to freeze their bank and financial accounts.
Saccone said the Whitlocks have been served. They could not be reached for comment. Howard Pankratz, The Denver Post
