Woman Allegedly Plunders $200,000 in Down Payments for Home She Doesn’t Own in Massive Real Estate Fraud

A woman from Michigan is being charged with numerous felonies for allegedly collecting down payments on a home she doesn’t own.

According to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, 28-year-old Pontiac resident Amanda Escalante-Lopez is being charged with 10 felonies in connection to making multiple agreements to sell a house that’s not hers and run away with the cash.

Authorities say that since early 2024, Escalante-Lopez engaged in numerous verbal contracts to sell a property that wasn’t hers, collected payments from victims and never giving them keys, documents or access to the home.

Says prosecutor Karen D. McDonald,

“For many, home ownership is the ultimate financial goal after years of hard work. These allegations are about more than the theft of money.

It is about robbing victims of the security and dignity that comes from purchasing a home of their own.”

According to a report by the local news agency WXYZ, the woman allegedly stole $200,000 from her victims.

One of her victims, 24-year-old Damne Zavala, said she was offered a chance to purchase the home from Escalante-Lopez after renting it out for a few months.

However, the plan unraveled when a family friend of Zavala – who was also purchasing a home from the defendant – had a real estate agent look over the details and discovered that none of the homes were under her name and actually belong to her family members.

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