DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH EDGARDO SALDANA! SCAM ARTIST ALERT!
Edgardo Saldana is a great liar! When I met Ed, he said he had 5 real estate properties which he claimed he owned and were turn key properties, that were rented out and cash flowing. He used complex real estate language, and claimed that he was a real estate investor. He also claimed that he was a loan officer, and could get a loan for anyone down to a 520 FICO score using FHA financing.
He said he could help people get out of foreclosure, force the bank to do a loan modification, and completely stop the foreclosure process, and repair thier credit afterwards. He said he had access to off market properties from the bank, and had relationships with some of the top banks (Bank of America, Countrywide, Wells Fargo, etc.) On top of all that, he also claimed he was a devout christian, a believer of Christ, and that he hosts a bible study group every thursday in his house/office on 559 Clifton Ave, Clifton, NJ 07011.
I had a small fortune I had amounted and was looking for a way to invest it in Real Estate. The reason I met with Ed was because at the time, I had very little credit history, and could not get a loan or mortgage I needed on my own to buy a investment property. Ed said that I didn't need credit and he knew banks that could get it done. He was eager to work with me and we arranged a meeting to see what he could offer.
When I arrived to his home office, he showed me 5 properties that were turn key investments. He described to me these interesting and creative ways to be able to be able to finance these properties without getting a mortgage. He showed me how much I can buy them for, the market value of the properties, and how much rental income each one generated. He said he was a loan officer and could arrange financing through the FHA program for me because I had the income required.
Edgardo also stated he could "BOOST" my credit score by using "SEASONED TRADELINES" and that he could boost my FICO score to 720 at which point I would be eligible for another $250,000 in unsecured financing from angel investors, which I could use to renovate the properties, or use it to acquire more properties.
This all sounded amazing to me. At that time, we were in the midst of the real estate crisis where banks were getting bailed out by the government. Before I met Edgardo, I went to a few banks and mortgage brokers, and none of them were able to get me approved for an investment property because I had no established credit history.
A week later we met again and we went look at properties together. He showed me a property in Clifton, in Passaic, and 2 in Newark. Some but not all of the properties had tenants in them, and although the houses were outdated, they were in livable condition. After seeing the properties, I settled on a 2 family home in on Broad Street Clifton. It was in a good nieghborhood, and needed the least amount of work. The price was very attractive, and so was the potential rental income. We met again a few days later, and we started the process.
He sat me down with his "Intern", a young gentleman by the name of Terrance. Terrance wrote my information down on a piece of paper, called the main office with my personal information (name, address, date of birth, and Social Security Number) and within minutes he had my credit report in front of him. I provided him with my past 2 years tax returns, 2 months bank statements, and my pay stubs for the last month, and a summary of my retirement and investment accounts. He assured me that he will "SHOP THE LOAN AROUND" to get the best deal, and get me prequalified within 30 days. At the same time, he would work on boosting my credit score and begin to add tradelines so I can apply for the 250,000 in unsecured credit and use a portion of that to renovate the property. At that point my work was done in 30 days I could come back and sign the Real Estate Contract.
Heres where things started getting interesting. The next month I called to check up to see if I was prequalifed and if my credit score went up. Terrance said I was "A FEW POINTS SHY" of getting qualifed and to hang in there because the new tradelines didn't report yet. Terrance promised to call me back once they "reported".
Terrance finally called me and said he found me a bank willing to do the deal, but I would have to come up with a little more Cash out of pocket for the deposit in order for the loan to pass underwriting. I met with Ed the next day eager to sign the contract and get the ball rolling. Instead of a real estate contract, he presented me with a "LAND TRUST CONTRACT" and a "EQUITY TRUST CONTRACT" where I would deposit my money into a "TRADITIONAL EQUITY TRUST ACCOUNT" to show the bank I was "SERIOUS" so I can get "PREAPPROVED" and once the transfer would take place I could sign the real estate contract and close in 7 to 10 days. He promised I would have full control of my money, and I would be able to reverse the transaction just as easily if the loan didn't go through. I did as he said, and the transfer took place a few days later in the amount $20,000 USD.
What he failed to mention to me is that "NONE" of this was necessary. I discovered later on that after I signed the paperwork, they forged some documents with my signature, and instead of the money being transfered to a "EQUITY TRUST ACCOUNT" with me being the account owner, that they were in control of the money, and I was listed as a beneficiary. On my side, everything looked legitamate. These crooks pretty much wired the money into thier LLC, and used it to buy themselves a used BMW X3, a nice watch, and to pay thier bills.
After 5 months of going back and forth, I had no investment property, I had lost 20,000 dollars, and Ed and Terrance both came up with more elaborate excuses and stopped answering thier phones. I would knock on the door at random moments to confront these cowards. Once a little girl would came and said he wasn't home, another a spanish lady that didn't speak english, and then after that his dog charley. His car was always in the driveway when I came. I went to the police, but they couldn't help me and said it was a civil matter I had to take up in court. Now with no money, I had to be my own personal detective.
Here is what I found out, his home office at 559 Clifton Avenue in Clifton didn't belong to him, based on tax records, it belonged to KEILA PORTOCARRERO and has been in foreclosure for a good year. While doing routine surveilance, I had caught Edgardo throwing rocks at his house in an attempt to break the windows, in what seemed to be insurance fraud.
Another interesting discovery was that none of the houses belonged to him, he wan't a licensed real estate agent, he wasn't a licensed credit repair agent, he wasn't a licensed mortage loan officer or mortgage broker. The car he bought didn't belong to him, instead he had been driving around in the car on dealer plates (which is illegal), and wasn't even a licensed car dealer. He was driving around for months in a car that didn't belong to him, on a dealer plate, that should be used only for transporting the car and for test drives only. Dealer plates are not to be used for personal recreation or for personal business.
Ed has no relationships with angel investors, no relationships with banks, and that he had swindled others the same way he swindled me. He created a ponzi scheme where the money he took from me, he used to pay off some of his other investors, pay his bills, and buy nice things for himself. He was unlicensed conducting activity "that only a licensed agent could do". What he did was he used resources from licensed real estate agents, like the logins to the MLS to access real estate listings, to pull credit reports, and to make himself seem legitimate. Everything was just a show to make himself look credible.
One last thing, during the 5 months when I was getting to know Edgardo, he would invite me over to his bible groups every thursday evening. I would frequently attend to gain understand of my own faith. Edgardo is such a monstrous scam artist, that he would use an innocent church to gain credibilidy for himself. He would frequently solicit members of the church to be his partners in real estate, and scam innocent parishioners. Last I checked, that church had broken all ties with him. (THANK GOODNESS) And that there are a few parishioners that are also looking for him that would like to sue him.
He also committed marriage fraud. He met a Dominican woman by the name of Griselle or Giselle. Griselle has a young daughter and was living in the United States illegally. In order for her to be a obtain legal residency, she would have to marry a citizen. Edgardo and Griselle arranged a small marraige ceremony back in 2014 or 2015. Edgardo would marry Griselle in exchange for cash payments from Griselle in order to support him and his laziness.
I found out about all this because Edgardo proposed to me, that he could arrange a simillar marriage for me. He explained to me that a minimum of two years I would have to keep up appearances on social media with a "FAKE" wife, set up joint accounts, and all the small details in between to make it seem legitimate. He said he knew of girls that are willing to pay me $70,000 up front and then $4,000 dollars every month for 2 to 3 years until I divorced them. Then I could do it again soon therafter and keep the money coming in.
The "best part" as Edgardo had stated about the Marriage fraud scheme he was proposing is that:
(1) We didn't have to live together AND
(2) I was free to date other women if I pleased.
If anyone ever finds this animal and Master scam artist, call the sheriff, state Police, or the FBI and inform him of his wherabouts. Another good resource is the NJ Real Estate and banking commission or the SEC as he conducts unlicensed and unregistered business activity under false pretenses. Last I heard, Griselle Saldana is an "INDEPENDENT" tax preparer. Edgardo Saldana opened a new company called Spirito Capital or Spirito Real Estate. His last known place of residence is either Clifton, Passaic, Elizabeth, or possibly Newark NJ.
There is a possibility he is involving his son Nathaniel Saldana, who is a "licensed real estate agent" to attract new people to his Ponzi scheme.
Do not believe this man, and call the authorities right away. DO NOT CONDUCT BUSINESS WITH HIM. DO NOT SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION WITH HIM.