Property deals lead to bank foreclosures [South Florida]
By now most Southwest Floridians have heard of Neil Mohamad Husani, Michael Tringali and their series of multimillion-dollar real estate deals that are now imploding.
But few know anything about James Russell Crain, a Sarasota real estate agent and investor who used similar methods to buy seven houses in some of Sarasota’s toniest neighborhoods.
Crain was assisted in the purchases by John A. Yanchek, the Sarasota attorney who helped Husani and Tringali with their real estate deals.
All of the houses that Crain bought were initially purchased by Yanchek and then sold to companies and trusts that Crain benefits from at much higher prices. Those companies and trusts then used lofty appraisals to obtain bank loans far exceeding the value of the underlying real estate.