Two people claiming they were rescuing distressed homeowners, Edward Trenton Albarracin (aka Trenton Edwards) and Gretchen Marie Zamjahn (aka Gretchen Edwards), are being sued by the Attorney General’s Office for allegedly running a predatory real estate scheme that stripped vulnerable homeowners of their property.
The Attorney General’s office is also suing the more than 50 entities they controlled.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, Albarracin and Zamjahn operated under several misleading names such as “Hands with Hope,” advertising themselves as professionals who could “rescue” homeowners from foreclosure. According to the complaint, their promises were a lie. Instead of helping homeowners in need, Albarracin and Zamjahn tricked them into signing over the deeds to their homes.
How the scheme worked:
- The defendants contacted homeowners facing foreclosure and offered to bring their mortgages current so they could remain in their homes.
- Victims were told they needed to “temporarily” transfer the deed into a trust.
- In reality, those deeds were transferred to deceptively named shell LLCs such as “Lupo Family Trust, LLC,” which were entirely controlled by Albarracin.
- Albarracin signed the deeds on behalf of the companies, while Zamjahn illegally notarized the transactions, despite having a direct financial interest as his spouse.
- Victims were further misled and pressured to file false bankruptcy or probate cases to prolong the scam.
The Attorney General’s lawsuit alleges unfair practices under the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act and exploitation of vulnerable adults under the Adult Protective Services Act. The complaint also seeks to void any transactions improperly notarized by Zamjahn.
Given the scope of the fraud and concerns over the defendant’s’ financial situation, Attorney General Mayes also sought an emergency receivership over all of Albarracin and Zamjahn’s assets. On August 20, Judge Scott Minder granted the request and appointed Peter Davis as receiver to secure the defendants’ real estate, vehicles, and cash accounts.
Evidence presented to the court also showed that Albarracin, who recently suffered a series of strokes following a cancer diagnosis, may himself now be vulnerable to financial exploitation by others, furthering the need of a receivership.
The Attorney General is seeking restitution for victim, civil penalties against the real estate operators, and a permanent injunction preventing Albarracin and Zamjahn from buying or selling real estate in Arizona ever again.
The Attorney General’s Office is urging Arizonans to come forward if they believe they have been approached by strangers offering to buy their home or pressured to sign over their deed.