Judge warns indicted real estate dealer to stop in Fla.
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A federal judge yesterday added new conditions to the bail for indicted real estate dealer James Platts, warning him to accept legal papers when Pennsylvania officials come to serve them and to refrain from practicing as an unlicensed real estate agent in Florida.
Mr. Platts, of Pine, faces a March 17 trial on a federal tax evasion indictment. Federal Pretrial Services officials requested yesterday's bail status hearing after they received word that he is under investigation in Florida on suspicion of unlicensed real estate sales.
"None of us were born yesterday. We know that if someone is knocking on your door for a prolonged period of time you're going to hear them," said U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose. She made it clear to Mr. Platts in court that she did not accept his explanation that he is "sometimes in the basement" of the house and doesn't know state agents are attempting to serve legal papers on him.
Those agents, from the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett, were delivering documents related to an ongoing civil case brought by the Bureau of Consumer Protection. The bureau in November accused Mr. Platts and his company, Easy Realty Solutions, of engaging in a widespread fraudulent conduct, including inflating home sales, using duplicate HUD-1 closing documents, selling real estate without a license and creating illegal second mortgages, as well as practicing law without a license. The state referred the matter to the office of U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, asking her to consider federal prosecution.
The tax evasion indictment grew out of a now-shuttered home-building company Mr. Platts ran.
Yesterday's hearing was called after Florida officials contacted federal prosecutors to call their attention to another Platts company, A Realty Rx, which lists its address as a post office box in Coral Springs, Fla. The company promises to arrange home sales, as well as mortgage relief, for buyers and sellers.
Mr. Platts told Judge Ambrose that he is not acting as a sales agent in those deals.
"I work for some sellers and work with real estate agents, trying to work between them and the bank," Mr. Platts said, describing his role as "loss mitigation work."
He said any homes listed for sale on his Web site "would have to go through the listed real estate agent in Florida."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaun Sweeney, who is prosecuting the tax evasion charges, told the judge he did not want to use court time for the sort of "mini-trial" he thought would be necessary to revoke Mr. Platts's bond.
First Published February 12, 2008 12:00 am
