Scam letter offers to buy farmland for $181,000

MARYSVILLE (KSNT) - The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) warned citizens of a scam letter offering a large sum of money to purchase farmland on Aug. 18. KSNT 27 News requested a copy of the letter.

The MCSO said a local family was contacted in a typed letter to purchase farm ground for a ‘very substantial’ amount of money. In the letter, the scammers offer to purchase property for $181,162.88 and claim they will provide $200 as consideration through escrow as earnest money.

The scam letter was attributed to "The Land Estate LLC" out of Garden City, ID. The scammers claim to be partners with LandStay.com, an alleged real estate investment company with no reviews on scamadvisor.com.

"We are writing to express our interest in purchasing your land in (redacted). As an investment company that specializes in property acquisitions, we are always on the lookout for new opportunities to add to our portfolio. We believe that your property could be an excellent addition to our holdings, and we would like to extend an offer to purchase it."

Scam letter excerpt

KSNT 27 News contacted the phone number on the letter. The scammer asked for a reference number and claimed a name on the letter, Brandon Christenson, was the direct buyer.

The scammer told KSNT 27 News to send the letter back with the landowner's signature, printed name, date, current address, phone number and email address.

"The reporting party/victim stated to me by phone conversation that $200.00 dollars was offered in addition to the payment for the land, ( an escrow payment of sorts)," Marshall County Undersheriff Mike Vermetten said. "The payment was not yet made to the victim. My understanding from the victim was that the owner/victim was to provide signatures on the agreement, alongside any corrected owner information and send it back to buyer."

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