When Betty Bullock?s husband died in October 2003, and she couldn?t meet her mortgage payments, she thought Robert Pukall was trying to help her save her Ellicott City home from foreclosure.
He bought her home for about $122,000, and started charging Bullock about $3,000 rent. When she couldn?t make payments, he told her she could buy it back for full market price ? about $400,000 ? and then planned to evict her, she said.
“I couldn?t believe he was saying that. The other times he was so nice,” she said.
It turns out, Pukall may have been part of a conspired scheme to evict her. Earlier this month, the Howard County Office of Consumer Affairs filed a lawsuit and obtained a temporary restraining order against the several companies and two individuals involved.
“I?ve got two disabled senior citizens who were going to sit on the curb with their belongings around them. That?s what we stopped,” said Stephen Hannan, administrator of the Office of Consumer Affairs in Department of Citizen Services. The second victim did not want to be named because she was concerned for her safety.
Pukall, of Florida, and Stewart Sachs, of Reisterstown, used unfair and deceitful trade practices to enter into contracts with the two women, said prosecuting attorney Lynn Robeson, senior assistant to the county solicitor.
Sachs heads Bay Capital Corp. and two limited-liability companies, 8966 Chapel LLC and 3562 Lowlen LLC.
Heavy Weight Title, an Owings Mills company, performed the settlements for both of the houses and is also named in the suit.
“We did the closing for the new buyer, that?s all I thought had happened,” said Heavy Weight Title President Jason Skylar, who added that the company has not hired a lawyer.
However, Robeson said the women did not know they were losing their homes.
Hannan said he has not made contact with any of the parties other than Heavy Weight Title, and does not think that any of the individuals or companies have lawyers.
Pukall did not return repeated phone calls. Contact information for Sachs, 8966 Chapel LLC and 3562 Lowlen LLC was not listed.
Where to call
More people may have been victimized by agencies that promise to save houses from foreclosure but use deceitful contracts, said Stephen Hannon, administrator of the Howard County Office of Consumer Affairs.
Anyone with complaints can call the Office of Consumer Affairs at 410-313-6420.
