Duped (?) Berkshire Hathaway Agent Taken for Ride … to Court

Before we begin, I already know have a sick sense of humor with regards to gullibility. For real estate agents, I suspect this is partly a cautionary tale of celebrity blindness. Debbie Hymen, an agent with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services KoenigRubloff Realty Group (say that three times fast) apparently began showing Ricco Garrett (stage name Tito Ali) multimillion-dollar homes in the Chicago area in 2013.

Garrett positioned himself as a music producer and rapper with a side business as part-owner of a marijuana farm. Hymen told the first seller’s agent in 2013 that Garrett was “a family friend she had known forever” … according to the lawsuit. Yup, lawsuit. Hymen didn’t produce proof of funds to the (smart) seller’s agent who then didn’t let them tour the $7 million home.

In 2016, the pair tried the same tactic to tour a $6.5 million lakefront home in the area.

This time, they got in with an entourage of five and a “security detail circling the block.” The group toured the home inch by inch right up to the shoreline. It may have been the question of whether the homeowner planned to travel that summer that spooked her into filing a police report. When police circled back to Realtor Hymen she told the same music industry story and further claimed Garrett is “related to Muhammad Ali” said the police report.

Even though it was years later, Hymen had still not verified the buyer’s funds, “but was close to doing so.” Meanwhile, Garrett had posted pictures of himself in the home.

Soon after, Garrett moved into a nearby $1.4 million home that was also for rent. Everything was all last-minute, rush-rush. The agent told Hymen where the keys were for the 11pm Friday showing and Garrett just moved in. He was forced out by police on the Monday.

Each time, homeowners smell something fishy and call police, but no charges wind up getting filed.

But between December 27, 2017 and January 3, 2018, their match was met by Kathy Rifkin. Hymen and Garrett toured her (then off-market) $4.8 million home that had been bouncing on/off the market for about four years. It was the same story of promised funds ($500,000 in earnest money) never arriving.

But the earnest money wasn’t the only thing to set off alarms. One of Garrett’s visits to the home was to mark items he wanted to purchase from the homeowner. We all know it’s not unheard of for a buyer to want something that is particularly suited for a certain space. But generally when a $4.8 million home in in the offing, the requests don’t extend to the bedsheets.

After being diddled by the pair, Rifkin filed suit against Hymen, her brokerage and Garrett alleging multiple flavors of fraud and that the Illinois Real Estate License Act was violated. The suit contends Garrett never intended to buy anything instead planning to take possession of a property and squat.

Needless to say, Hymen denies participating in a scheme (although she remained Garrett’s agent after the prior year’s weekend squat). Berkshire Hathaway Home Services has no comment and no one appears to know where Garrett is.

Desperation Helps People Make Bad Decisions

In at least two of the examples, the sellers were sitting on properties they really wanted to unload. When a home is for sale and rent, it hints the seller needs some cash coming in any way they can. Ditto a home that’s been floating on and off the market for years. In Rifkin’s case, she purchased the home in 2011 for roughly $4 million and listed it for $5.8 million three years later after completing installation of alarm and fire systems left by the prior owner and some cosmetic work. Rifkin’s home is currently listed at $3,999,999.

Suspicious me, in the middle of reading multiple accounts of this lawsuit (here, here), I checked YouTube for “Tito Ali” and Ricco Garrett” and found little information to make me think he has a pot to tinkle in. In fact, one video presages this whole series of events. Labeled “TITO ALI show EPISODE I” and uploaded in September 2010 by Joejackthemogul Gizz. It’s worth noting Mr. Gizz seems to have uploaded 10 videos in eight years, the last three of which didn’t crack 200 views – the most recent being three years ago. He has 55 subscribers – no mogul there.

But back to the 2010 TITO ALI show. He spends all 2:43 minutes touring a multimillion-dollar home in California with who I’d guess was the Realtor along with Garrett’s posse. Sound familiar?

It’s natural to be star struck, but in the age of the internet, people like this exist because they figure enough people don’t think to do simple checks. “Music” says YouTube. A simple search for Garrett got no hits and Tito Ali returned his EPISODE I and one song (Crooked I) that’s had 10,201 views since it was loaded in 2012.

Another, easier warning sign. Everything was rushed, nebulous, and all cash. People with cash aren’t afraid to show it when they’re serious. They don’t play hide and seek with Realtors.

It’s up to the courts to decide if Garrett is innocent and/or if he duped Hymen and whether Berkshire Hathaway is on the hook for damages. At the very least, this is a deep, deep hole for long-time Realtor Hymen to dig out of in the small, rarified air of luxury Chicago real estate.

As I said, a cautionary tale. But don’t think Dallas is immune. One jumbo property sale was held up earlier this year by a serial North Texas squatter who crawled in a window. And now you know they may also come in through the front door escorted by a Realtor.

 

Remember:  High-rises, HOAs and renovation are my beat. But I also appreciate modern and historical architecture balanced against the YIMBY movement. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, the National Association of Real Estate Editors recognized my writing with three Bronze (2016, 2017, 2018) and two Silver (2016, 2017) awards.  Have a story to tell or a marriage proposal to make?  Shoot me an email [email protected]. Be sure to look for me on Facebook and Twitter. You won’t find me, but you’re welcome to look.