A Houston judge sentenced a woman to serve five years in prison for reportedly duping investors out of $130,000 through a real estate scam.
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The influencer used her platform to scam her followers into investing in bogus real estate properties
Mikki Lynn Fox,41, pleaded guilty to aggregate theft for scamming eight investors and her followers in a sketchy real estate deal. According to ABC 13, Fox is known on YouTube as a lifestyle and dating consultant plus influencer Micheala Pink and Summer Black. The Harrison County Attorney’s Office said in their report how Fox manipulated people from Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and California into multiple types of fraudulent real estate investments between March 2015 and July 2020.
Some victims included the parents of children who played baseball with Fox’s kids in Houston. She would ask the victims to invest $35,000 to help her purchase a home to flip and claimed it would sell quickly. Additionally, she promises to return their principal investment plus a share of the profits.
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“This defendant used her online platform to gain the trust of unsuspecting victims and steal tens of thousands of dollars of their hard-earned money. Thieves are crafty and clever in coming up with new ways to commit their crimes, and we will use every means at our disposal to stop them,” said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.
Fox reportedly told her followers that they would earn an income if an investment into a “flipped house” was made but they never saw a penny
As months went by, Fox reported gave the investors a different story when the properties were not listed on the market and later ignored their call. Investigators also noted Fox never paid back any of the victims because she spent the money. “Some of it was rent. Some of it was regular supermarket stuff, child care, school stuff, (and) her makeup. Just everyday expenses,” said former Harris County forensic investigator Katherine O’Connor.
One of the victims explained how embarrassed he was by the situation after a friend reportedly convinced him to invest in the scheme. “I feel embarrassed about the whole situation. Honestly, the whole time everything kind of felt funny, in a way,” he said in a statement.
“Everything through social media seems so easy. Everybody makes it seem like what they’re investing in is easy when in reality nothing is easy. You have to invest in yourself, work at the grind.”
Assistant DA Sheila Hansel told Click2Houston that consumers should do their own research before making risky investment decisions and learn more about the person. She added that an attorney or a licensed real estate agent should look at any paperwork before a decision is made.
The second-degree felony that Fox was convicted for possessed a two to twenty-year prison sentence but a judge only picked five years. Additionally. she spent a total of $136,624 from her victims but as previously mentioned, she will not be able to return the funds.