KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Selling your home in this real estate market is tough enough. In addition, the state agencies that are supposed to be protecting you may be doing nothing.
In a Call For Action Investigation, undercover video shows a real estate broker you may run into if you're in the market for a new home. He has a warrant out for his arrest but we found agencies not doing anything about this wanted man.
"Some days I'm angry. Some days all I do is sit and cry all day," Linda Gill-Kelso said.
Gill-Kelso and her husband, Carl, used to dream of their retirement. But those dreams are gone, and replaced with a financial nightmare.
It's a future Gill-Kelso never imagined when she and her husband went to work for real estate broker Robert Jones. "He needs to lose his license," Gill-Kelso said.
Gill-Kelso was hired as the accountant and took care of Robert's many businesses, including Silver Star Realty.
"I did not do full accounting because he only gave me what he wanted me to do," Gill-Kelso said. She says now she understands why.
She and her husband say they're struggling financially because their former boss hasn't paid them. "He owes my husband and I owe over $42,000 in just payroll checks," Gill-Kelso said.
She and her husband are not the only ones standing in line waiting to collect.
Sally Riley says she sold a few homes for Robert. But the commisison checks never cleared the bank. "Two checks bounced," Riley said. "All the rest he just didn't pay at all."
It's a story Call for Action heard over and over again. We found the problem didn't just happen overnight. We uncovered a trail of problems dating back to 2003.
Problems like not paying his employees, disputes over rehab work, evading the tax man, and bouncing checks all over town. "We've all been victimized and we want justice," Gill-Kelso said.
Robert faces more than $155,000 in Federal tax liens. And more than $7,000 in Missouri tax liens.
With the tax liens and bad checks, Robert owes more than $216,000. But, he's still working as a licensed real estate broker.
According to the business card Robert gave us, he's selling the homes under two businesses the Missouri Secretary of State dissolved.
So we took our findings to the Missouri Real Estate Commission. Janet Carder is the Executive Director and her office can revoke, suspend, or fine a licensee.
We asked her if someone with a real estate license should be able to write bad checks. Carder answered, "That would concern me. That doesn't sound normal."
So why hasn't the state taken action? "Unless somebody tells us about it or lets us know it would not be something we would be aware of," Carder said.
Looking for Justice
The state never knew Robert Jones was a wanted man until we told them. We found a warrant out for Robert's arrest for passing bad checks.
We asked if a licensed real estate broker should have a warrant out for his arrest. Carder told us it's, "always a concern but warrants are not convictions. We assume they are innocent until proven guilty."
What we uncovered has the state taking a closer look. But, Gill-Kelso and her husband wonder if they'll ever see justice.
They are among a group of consumers who have complained to the State Real Estate Commissions, Missouri Attorney General, and even the Department of Labor.
But nothing seemed to worked until they Called for Action. "Where does it stop Jenn? Where does it stop?" Gill-Kelso asked.
That's what we wanted to know. Consumers have already turned over 47 checks to the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office.
Prosecutors have only filed charges on two of those bad checks. "It's a way of leverage to try to get Mr. Jones to do what he basically needs to do," Assistant County Prosecutor Michael Huffman said. He went on to say that if this case goes to trial, "I can assure you that we will file every check we have in this office against him."
Police need to arrest Robert first and they haven't done that in months. But we were able to track down Robert before a local real estate hearing.
We asked Robert why he is writing checks that are bouncing. Robert told us, "You'll hear the outcome of the case as it's discovered here," at the meeting.
We went on to ask if a realtor should have a warrant out for their arrest. Robert answered, "I'm not aware of any of that."
But Lenexa Police made Robert aware of the warrant during the hearing. They walked him outside to a waiting police cruiser. Months after the warrant was issued, police finally enforced it.
Gill-Kelso now has hope that she and others are one step closer to justice. "This is the day we've been waiting for," she said.
