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Home Buying Scheme Returns Using New Names

Previous Stories Online Credited For Stopping Victimization

POSTED: 4:15 pm EST December 24, 2009
UPDATED: 6:01 pm EST December 24, 2009

A business that has been the focus of several 6News investigations in the past is back under a couple of new names.

Joseph Stanley and his business owe people hundreds of thousands of dollars from court judgments to home sellers, and he's still trolling the market, 6News' Rafael Sanchez reported.

Sanchez recently asked Stanley about his current dealings, but he wasn't interested in talking about it.

"Get out of my face. Move out of the way. I'm trying to take care of business," Stanley said.

6News found Stanley in small claims court in Lawrence Township, where Joe McNeal was trying to regain ownership of his home at 8250 N. Meadowlark Dr.

McNeal didn't want to comment on the litigation, but he sold Stanley his home under a land contract. McNeal said he never received any money and wanted Stanley evicted from the property.

Stanley is now using the name J. Lee Stanley or business name Paradigm Property on contracts. In the past, Stanley called his business Spectrum Properties or Mutual Investment.

In a 6News investigation in April, Stanley unleashed a profanity-laced tirade when Sanchez tried to get comment from him about his business practices.

Stanley's deals typically involve a home seller who agrees to a land contract sale over a two-year period. He often pays a deposit, but doesn't pay anything else, allowing him to live in the home for free until he is evicted.

Stanley had possession of McNeal's property for about four months, but he had left the home after Sanchez encountered him a few days ago.

Over the last 15 years, Stanley has done the same scheme numerous times, cheating people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Since August, Stanley has attempted to buy several properties in the Indianapolis area. Realtors became suspicious of Stanley because he wanted them to fill out much of his paperwork and he only wanted to business by fax, never wanting to meet face-to-face to discuss the deal.

None of the recent sales went through because Realtors had found out about 6News' previous stories, which are posted on this Web site.

The Metropolitan Board of Realtors represents more than 6,000 licensed agents in central Indiana. A members-only section of their site has a new alert about the return of the home-buying scheme that includes links to 6News' investigation.

MIBOR CEO Stephen Sullivan could not comment about Stanley, but advised his members "to be cautious."

In the past, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office and Attorney General's Office have declined to take action against Stanley or his companies because the issues involve contract disputes.

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