Attorney General: man sold homes that were already mortgaged

The owner of a Valley business is under investigation; he's accused of selling homes that investigators say were mortgaged.

The people making payments to the sellers eventually lost the homes they thought were theirs, to foreclosure.

One woman thought she had an $80,000 mortgage on her downtown Phoenix home. Another put $12,000 down on what he thought was a $50,000 mortgage for a south Phoenix home.

The Arizona Attorney General's Office claims the buyers were led to believe the homes were owned free and clear by the seller, but in fact they were mortgaged.

According to a search warrant, investigators say five people were defrauded, told they would would own their home, but instead the homes were being used as collateral for other loans, something that was never disclosed to the buyers. Ultimately those homes were repossessed.

Investigators served a search warrant at the Office Pile near 7th St & Thomas; that is there the paperwork for the homes was signed. It's paperwork the AG's office says is worthless.

Francisco Aguirre is the main target of the investigation. His LinkedIn profile says he is the owner of the office complex where the paperwork was signed, and an executive with the business that sold the homes to the Spanish-speaking buyers.

According to the warrant, he assured the buyers they had nothing to worry about.

Aguirre has not been charged or arrested, but that could be coming soon.

He said the accusations against him are unfounded, and he plans to fight them vigorously.