Man files lawsuit suit against Crisp alleging fraud
| Friday, Jan 16 2009 10:45 PM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 01:40 PM
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David Crisp looks over papers before the start of his hearing in July.
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A Northern California man filed a $75,000 lawsuit alleging fraud and breach of contract against former Bakersfield real estate salesman David Crisp.
Attorney Harvey Stein said Friday that Crisp used client Jorge Ochoa as a straw buyer on a home at 531 Blue Meadow Court in Oildale that subsequently foreclosed.
Ochoa’s credit score plummeted, and he’s paid high interest rates since.
“Jorge felt that he had to do something to try to rehabilitate his credit, even if he never gets a dime of this,” Stein said.
Crisp, half of the defunct Crisp & Cole Real Estate, lost his real estate license in September after a hearing with the state Department of Real Estate. Crisp committed fraud and dishonest dealing, according to an administrative law judge’s ruling.
Unlike former mentor Carl Cole, Crisp hasn’t tried to get his license back.
Crisp didn’t respond to the November filing, Stein said, adding he’ll next seek a judgment against him. A lien could be placed against Crisp if a judge rules in favor of his client, Stein said.
Crisp’s whereabouts are unclear.
Ochoa, a vehicle damage estimator for an auto body shop in Oakland, was friends with Crisp’s cousin. Crisp wanted to buy the house as a personal investment, Ochoa’s attorney says in court documents, and asked Ochoa to “assist him in purchasing the home by applying for a home loan since (Ochoa’s) credit was outstanding ....”
Ochoa told Crisp he’d think about it. Then on July 19, 2006, Crisp told Ochoa the “house went through,” court records show.
But Ochoa never saw the house and didn’t sign loan documents, Stein’s complaint said.
Later, Ochoa got escrow papers and a $5,000 check “for his assistance,” Stein wrote. Ochoa’s signature was forged; he called Crisp, who told him he would make the payments and sell the house within a couple of months.
But the house didn’t sell, and Crisp didn’t make payments. The home foreclosed in November 2007.
