“We Buy Ugly Homes” Franchisee Pleads Guilty to Attempted Grand Theft

VENTURA, California – District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that Corey Evans (DOB 11/07/78), of Santa Clarita, pled guilty to two felony counts of attempted grand theft by false pretenses. The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the District Attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Unit, acting on a referral from Ventura County Adult Protective Services.

Evans is a co-owner of HomeVestors, an independently owned “We Buy Ugly Houses” franchise. HomeVestors offers to purchase homes for cash in “as-is” condition. Evans provided false information to two separate elderly homeowners to induce them to sign contracts for HomeVestors to purchase their homes. Both victims, aged 72 and 76, are Camarillo residents. When each victim attempted to cancel their contract, HomeVestors recorded liens on their homes and threatened civil litigation.

Evans will be sentenced on September 24, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. in courtroom 23 of the Ventura County Superior Court. At the time of his sentencing hearing Evans will be ordered to pay restitution to the victims, remove all liens, and cease all civil litigation against them.