This week on the perfect scam.

The city of Philadelphia hold the deed records and found that there were 500 mortgages recorded against Philadelphia homeowners

and then compared it to census track data

so that we have a sense of,

are these being made in neighborhoods

with high concentrations of black and brown homeowners. And they are.

And it's dramatic.

That kind of result, that kind of disparity,

can't simply be by accident.

Welcome back to the perfect scam. I'm your host Bob Sullivan.

When we left our story, homeowners around the country had reported seeing surprising

encumbrances, like mortgages or liens, attached to their homes at the county

recorder's office. The company behind the surprise is

M. V. Realty, which says it is paid consumers a fee for the right to be their real estate

agent at some point in the future. Way in the future. It denies these Arlene's calling them instead

memorandums of the agreement. But in December 2022 the Pennsylvania Attorney General sues MV Realty, alleging the firm has deceived

consumers.

MV Realty says, what it's doing is perfectly legal, says its contracts are clear and vows to clear its name in court.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia homeowners Felicia Pierce and Timothy Calhoun, who we met last episode,

along with many, many like them,

say they're stuck in a 40-year contract with MV-realty

and don't know how to get out.

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