A former real-estate agent and her husband had to dip into retirement savings to buy a house after being scammed out of $63,000

Mon, 08/19/2024 - 12:57

A collage featuring a couple, money, and a house — Rich and Laurie Ramelow wired $63,000 to a fraudster instead of their escrow officer.
Chris Ryan/Getty, Tony Cordoza/Getty, Tyler Le/BI

Laurie and Rich Ramelow were scammed out of $63,000 while buying a home in Texas.
A fraudster impersonated their escrow officer near the end of the buying process.
The Ramelows had to liquidate retirement funds to buy the house and hope to recover the money.

Earlier this year, Laurie and Rich Ramelow decided to leave California and move to Texas to be closer to their daughter.

Laurie, a former real-estate agent, and Rich, a project manager for a telecommunications company, found a 1,901-square-foot, four-bedroom home in San Antonio that seemed perfect.