Michael David Ryan / David Michael Ryan / Dann O Ryan / etc :
A 1998 lawsuit claimed Ryan defrauded investors out of more than $2 million by selling the same set of dilapidated apartments three times, allegedly lying to the buyers then forcing them into foreclosure and buying it back at rock-bottom prices each time.
San Francisco doctor Paul Lynn paid Ryan $1,795,000 for the Capetown Apartments complex in Harris County, Texas in 1993, but found them in complete disrepair, the lawsuit said.
The legal documents said Ryan foreclosed the property in March the following year, forcing Dr Lynn into bankruptcy.
Ryan then sold it to Robert Moore and his brother Dr. Elwin Moore from Seattle, Washington in November 1994.
The lawsuit claimed the brothers did not know that some of the 164 apartment units had been 'completely destroyed by fire and were non-existent at the time of the sale', and repairs would cost $8,000 per apartment rather than the $300 Ryan had told them.
Ryan told the Moores he could act as their attorney for the property sale, the lawsuit said. They discovered later he was not licensed to practice law in Texas, they claimed in court papers.
When the brothers found out the decrepit state of the apartments, they agreed to swap their ownership for another of Ryan's apartment complexes, which Ryan then foreclosed in July 1995, leaving the Moores empty-handed, according to the legal documents.
The alleged fraudster then sold Capetown Apartments to a third buyer, Barry Hardy, for $1,795,000 plus $119,000 property taxes – though the real value was only $308,000, the lawsuit said.
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