Evanston Realtor Accused of Scamming Home Buyers For Thousands

EVANSTON, IL - An Evanston-based real estate agent has been accused of stealing thousands of dollars from more than a dozen clients on the premise of landing them a new home.

Sixteen people have filed police reports regarding Paul King, who operates Carly King Realty with properties throughout the North Shore, according to a CBS 2 Chicago report. Claims are consistent, stating King has scammed them out of thousands of dollars in earnest money.

In all cases, the alleged victims claim King disappears after receiving an initial check on the property.

CBS talked to members of the Perez family, one of the victims of the apparent scam.

A Perez family member said her family gave King $5,500 in earnest money to secure a deal on what they described as their “dream home.” Six months passed and they had not heard back from King. They finally got in contact with him and received a refund check, which bounced.

“We just kept on pushing and pushing to get our money back,” the woman said. “He just finally gave us the check.”

“Carby King Realty does not have offices in this building.” was a sign found on the Evanston address listed on King’s website.

More via CBS 2 Chicago