BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — The Longmont Police Department arrested a man and woman in a multi-million-dollar real estate fraud scheme earlier this month.
Savuth Yin, 26, and Yulissa Yin, 24, were arrested on Nov. 9 and both face a long list of charges, including theft and forgery.
The investigation started on Sept. 14 when Carroll-Lewellen Funeral Home received several emails and phone calls suggesting they were related or connected to a man who died in his home. The caller/emailer wanted the funeral home to transport the man and cremate him, all according to arrest documents.
The caller/emailer even offered to pay extra for the service. The funeral home became concerned and contacted Longmont police, according to arrest documents.
Police said they found a 77-year-old man dead in his home. His cause of death is under investigation.
The man, whose identity hasn’t been released, was a Boulder County real estate broker that owned seven properties, according to police. Six of the properties were rented out at the time of his death.
Arrest documents revealed that several of the renters were contacted in Oct. by someone who claimed they represented the properties now that the landlord was no longer alive, and the renters needed to move out.
One of the renter’s personal representatives stated they were unable to locate any of the keys to the properties or the leases. The leases and keys were believed to have been stolen, according to arrest documents.
During the investigation, a Longmont police detective learned 14 quit claim deeds were forged and filed with the Boulder County Recorder’s Office for the properties. The quit claim deeds were filed between March 5, 2021, and Oct. 9, 2021. The total theft loss is approximately $2,875,000, arrest reports showed.
From there, the investigation continued. The detective learned that payments were made to the clerk recorder’s office using a MasterCard, according to arrest documents.
The detective then found an open-source internet check linked to a business with the owner Yulissa Yin. Yin was the same last name as one of the renters, Savuth Yin, according to arrest reports.
Arrest documents also showed that Yin received her associate real estate broker’s license in Sept.
Police then conducted a search warrant at the address listed on Yin’s driver’s license on Nov. 10.
Detectives said both Yulissa and Savuth Yin were at the address when the search warrant was conducted.
Items of evidence found in Yin residence
These are the items of evidence detectives said were found in the Yin home, according to arrest documents:
- Four notary stamps used on quit claim deeds, which were found to be fake, according to arrest documents
- A letter addressed to Savuth and Yulissa Yin at the address for the open-source check, which was linked to a business owned by Yulissa Yin
- the Mastercard that was used to make payments to the clerk recorder’s office
- Lawsuit paperwork from the estate of the 77-year-old victim that showed the Yin’s were being civilly sued
- Several firearms, including one with a serial number scratched off
- A notebook with a handwritten checklist:
- Plans to get a passport
- Hire an attorney, settle lawsuit
- Pay off debts
- Sell everything, move out, and “leave in 2-3 months”
- A second page of the notebook was titled ” Asylum” and listed:
- Cuba
- Brazil
- Cape Verde Islands
- Venezuela
- Ecuador
- “Costa Rica (maybe)”
- Another column read “no to these places” and listed three other South American countries
- Mexican Passport for Yulissa
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2022.