Businessman allegedly sold six properties he didn’t own
A businessman from Acworth, Ga., is accused by the FBI of bilking six people by selling them properties in Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Youngstown, Ohio, that he didn’t actually own.
Brent J. Kinney, 28, formerly of Amherst, is accused of a felony count of using wire and mail services to defraud investors out of $139,328, Assistant U. S. Attorney Edward H. White said.
Kinney is accused of using a Web site to sell three properties in Buffalo, one in Niagara Falls and two in Youngstown, Ohio, to people who were duped into thinking he actually owned them.
The fraud victims were told they had purchased the properties at auctions, but they never got legitimate deeds for the properties, White said.
Buffalo FBI agents and U. S. Postal Inspection Service agents were assisted by the City of Buffalo’s Anti-Flipping Task Force, the FBI said.
Prosecutors said Kinney also pleaded guilty last month to a related state charge that was filed against him by the Erie County district attorney’s office.
