220780_sarcasticLast week I received an email from a friend relating a story from a realtor. Though the authenticity of the account may be almost impossible to verify, I want to share it anyway, as it may be plausible and the underlying principles involved are nevertheless instructive. Here is the story:

As a Realtor for the past 28 years I thought I’d seen or heard it all … Until now.
I was showing homes in Pontiac, MI. one afternoon recently and showed up at a home at the 4:00 pm time my appointment was scheduled for. After I woke up the homeowner, she let us in and then proceeded to tell my buyers and I that she has already entered into a contract to sell the home on a short-sale. (A short-sale is a sale where the banks accepts less money than is owed on the home). After some chit-chat, she proceeded to tell us that she and her sister (who also lived in the area) were buying each other’s homes via the short-sale process. I mentioned to her that I thought relatives could not be involved in those transactions. She smiled and said “We have two different last names so no one knows the difference”.

She went on to tell us that each of them owed over 100K on their homes and were in the process of buying each other’s homes for about 10-15K cash. To top it off, they were each receiving $3,000.00 in government provided relocation assistance at the closing.

My buyers and I were amazed that she was outright admitting to fraud and yet, she continued. She began to tell us that the best part of her scheme was that because they currently were not working that they (both) are now receiving Section 8 Vouchers. I said I thought those were for renters and she said “That’s the best part; me and my sister are going to be renting each other’s homes so we don’t even have to move, and Obama is going to give us each $800.00 a month to pay the rent!” She then picked up a picture she had framed of Obama and did a little happy dance around her living room and while she kissed the picture she was singing “Thank you Obama …. thank you Obama.”

So here is the bottom line … Both of these scammers got at least $80,000.00 in debt forgiven, $3,000.00 in cash for relocation (when in fact they did not relocate) and to boot, you and I will now be paying (through our taxes) $1,600.00 in rent for each of them each and every month …. perhaps forever!”

To be honest, Snopes judges this particular story to be “probably false.” But note, they can only say “probably” and not “definitely”. Their first reason: it would involve fraud and they doubt someone would admit to it. I recall a news account this week about a poll worker in Cincinnati voting twice for Obama and admitting it. People are sometimes proud of cheating these days.

Snopes’ second reason for casting doubt on this story is that these short sales require “full financial disclosure” and that lien-holders would be skeptical about someone purchasing a short sale property when they had just sold a short sale property. Really? The sub-prime mortgage meltdown proves that these mortgage brokers would loan money to almost anyone regardless of qualifications, especially if Jesse Jackson showed up with a mob.

The $3000 in relocation assistance is available under the 2009 Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives, implemented by the Obama administration without Congress’ approval. Under the rules, (who’s following rules here?) it would not be available to anyone who had purchased a home in the past 12 months. So, in this scenario, there would have to be more fraud. Do ya think?

It’s difficult to believe something like this, but when we stop to consider the amount of fraud that has been exposed in government programs of late, it just may be possible. We’ve seen voter fraud, medicare fraud, social security fraud (SSI disability claims have skyrocketed), food stamp ebt fraud, Solyndra fraud, ad infinitum. I recently encountered a burka clad Sudanese refugee, non-citizen, who was getting food stamps. This one is verified by the Weekly Standard, which reports that non-citizen enrollment in food stamps has increased from 994,000 to 1,634,000 since Obama took office.

The potential for fraud and abuse in any program administered by a giant federal bureaucracy increases exponentially with the size of the program. Claims by politicians that they will cut fraud and abuse are laughable. Just wait until Obamacare gets into high gear.

Many conservatives and Republican legislators are focusing upon U.S. spending and debt as a serious threat to our sustainability as a nation. The truth is that the spending and debt are only a symptom of a much deeper disease, which is that as a nation, we are overcome with immorality. The real problem is sin! Horrors! That is so unfashionable and politically incorrect to say. Combine a greater propensity for evil with a behemoth bureaucracy incapable of enforcement and we have the recipe for a disaster. The day will come when the gravy train runs out and then it will get bloody.

President, John Adams wrote that: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” The most effective way of controlling evil people is through totalitarian means. Uh oh!