House-flipping franchisee to plead guilty to federal wire fraud

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – On a weekly, if not daily basis, homeowners across the Mid-South are inundated with inquiries to purchase their properties.

You’ve seen their commercials and heard their jingle on TV. “We Buy Ugly Houses” is one of the most prominent names in home flipping in Memphis and across the country; according to nonprofit news agency ProPublica, however, a former franchise owner has agreed to plead guilty to federal wire fraud.

ProPublica launched a series of investigations into HomeVestors of America, which uses the “We Buy Ugly Homes” slogan. The company is split into franchises, and ProPublica’s investigations have accused HomeVestors of training those franchise owners to target elderly, infirm, or financially vulnerable homeowners.

Federal prosecutors in Texas said a franchise owner there named Charles Carrier defrauded nearly $40 million out of eighty different investors. Prosecutors said he used investor money to help buy and flip houses, but, in the end, could not pay them back.

Carrier faces up to twenty years in prison.

HomeVestors has dropped Carrier as a franchisee.

Each of HomeVestors’ franchisees operates independently. FOX13 looked through ProPublica’s research, and did not find any faults in any franchisee in or near Memphis.