At least 50 property owners in Medellín and in municipalities in the southern metropolitan area have been victims of an alleged scam by the agency Grupo Respaldo Inmobiliario.
According to reports collected by Caracol Radio, the company received advance payments from tenants, but did not transfer the funds to the owners of the rented properties.
The whistleblowers have revealed that the agency collected rent from tenants in advance but did not deliver it to the owners, thus accumulating an estimated amount of 500 million pesos. The situation appears to be systematic, according to the victims.
Diana Quintero, one of those affected, told Caracol Radio that she rented her property since last year, but has not received any payments since February 2024, although the tenant continues to fulfill his part. “The payments were irregular due to abusive clauses in the contracts. I have not received anything since February and when I tried to find the agency with a lawyer, they were no longer in their offices,” she said.
Another victim, Miriam Duque Ramírez, explained that the agency promised them a potential tenant and made them sign a contract with clauses that exempted the company from liability for non-payment. “We only received two payments in January and then they stopped paying,” Duque said.
Those affected have also complained that they were forced to sign intimidating clauses. One of the affected people, who prefers to remain anonymous, was surprised to find a clause in the contract that prevented mentioning the difficulties with the agency. “I was very worried because they did not answer my calls and when I managed to get an appointment, they cancelled it. In addition, they did not let me enter the building without an appointment,” he told Caracol Radio.
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Sara Quintero, a lawyer for one of the victims, said the number of those affected continues to rise. The agency offered unjustified discounts for early rent payments, which seemed like an attempt to collect more money. “They offered discounts of 10% for paying two rents in advance and 15% for more than three. This seemed like an attempt to collect as much money as possible,” Quintero explained.
Regarding the response from Grupo Respaldo Inmobiliario, Caracol Radio says that they tried to contact the hotline for property owners, but only received a delayed response via messaging. The agency has closed its offices in San Diego, Medellín, and does not answer the phone numbers. In addition, it has stopped paying rent for its own offices.
The real owner of the agency is Juan David Cruz Latarrte, son of the legal representative Julio Hernán Cruz Bernal. Cruz Latarrte has already been linked to judicial proceedings for similar scams in the past, including convictions in 2018 for cases related to other real estate companies.
The Real Estate Exchange warned that the Grupo Respaldo Inmobiliario is not part of its association and recommended that citizens deal only with firms affiliated with its organization to avoid fraud.
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2024-09-01 02:00:57
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