Around January of after losing a well paying job, I decided to get a real estate agent and list all 3 of my properties but month after month went by with very few hits and no real offers that even made it to escrow. Around August or September I was running out of hope and becoming a bit desperate for a solution.
It was about this time that I was introduced to John Jennings (owner and President of National Investment Corporation) and enlisted his services to keep me out of foreclosure.
John claimed to be an expert in his field for over 25 years and said that he could keep my properties from going into foreclosure by negotiating short sales with the lenders and purchasing the properties at a reduced rate and then selling them to investors for a profit. He also said he would do the same thing with my 2006 Mercedes. I told John that I had 2 friends that had invested a total of $100k in my properties and that the only way I would sign for his services was if he would pay me $100k of the profits he made on my 3 properties and the car. He said he was sure it wouldn't be a problem because he would make at least $500k on them and that the turnaround time on short sales was currently about 4 months.
He then had me sign several blank documents including Grant Deed, General Durable Power of Attorney, Contract Agreement, Affidavit, Letter of Authorization, Hardship Letter, Real Estate Purchase Contract and Equity Purchase Contracts. When I asked him why all the documents he wanted me to sign were blank he said that it was because of convenience so when he got all of the information from the lenders that we wouldn't have to drive and hassle with getting my signatures. He said I would get copies of all the paperwork within a week but he never provided me with any of the copies.
This is a standard complaint with all his clients.
People ask why I would do such a thing as sign these blank documents. My reply is that people in the same situation are often desperate for a way out and feel they have nothing to lose and also, John is a very smooth talking individual that up front really seems sincere and talks like he really knows exactly how to and wants to help people. He is very believable and convincing especially to those who really want to believe they may have found a way out of their seemingly hopeless situation.
Over the months of communication with John almost every time we talked he would tell me stories of how everyone he helped and befriended would turn on him and try to rip him off including his closest friends. I felt really bad for him because he seemed sincere and I hate to see people get burned, especially by friends or partners or employees. He used to tell me all the time that his employees were ripping him off and not doing any of the work he was paying them for. So I would always tell John to hire me and I would try and watch his back and oversee the office staff and make sure they were doing what they were supposed to. But he never wanted to hire me because I was a client and he was driving my car. Finally in February when another of his employees quit and he needed help, he offered me a job. I was currently working selling cars and not making any money so I accepted.
Over the few months I was there I found out what John was really like. He always had lawsuits going on against him and often police calling looking for him for claims people were filing against him. He would always demand that his employees do things that didn't seem ethical or legal to me like:
1. filling out and filing Bankruptcy for clients without their knowledge or permission
2. filing deeds of client property when he thought they were going to cancel services
3. he never once made any legitimate attempt to negotiate on any of the client cars
4. he was almost always late paying his employees or just paid partial payrolls and finally just quit paying them at all.in fact he owes me and 2 other employees over $20,000 as of today.
5. He often drives the client cars with no insurance, no registration, no license plates and I believe, no intention of negotiating the purchase of them as he promises the clients.
6. He lets friends and especially pretty girls drive the cars I believe in an effort to impress them and to get them to sleep with him.
7. It is my opinion and observation that he sexually harassed all his employees and business partner including myself and almost everyone I saw him talk to.
8. He openly had sex in the pool of the house that was also our office during working hours while we were there working.
9. He asked employees to call part shops to see if anyone would buy the parts to the cars that belonged to his clients.
10. He has directed employees to break into vacant or abandoned properties to take possession even if they were not a client's property. Just an empty property he sees that he wants. (examples trailway lane agoura and trego court simi valley)
11. He hid client cars in different properties, some of which were out of state
12. He asked his employees to turn on utilities at properties using social security numbers and other personal information of clients without their knowledge or consent
13. I believe he has cashed checks made out to other people when he found them on occasion at vacated properties he controlled.
14. If a client would send notice of cancelation of services or if he even thought they might cancel he would immediately file the deed to their property so he could control it. I believe the main motivation was to be able to collect rents on the property even though he promised not to file any deed unless it was as a result of completing the successful short sale on the property for the client
15. He filed fraudulent reports to the police of which I was a witness to at least two instances. I have notified those law enforcement agencies.
16. He has and continues to collect rents on client properties when no mortgage was/is being paid. (I believe this is called RENT SKIMMING)
17. took possession of personal belongings from clients if he was able to get in the property before they could get everything out.
18. It is my understanding and public record that he has been convicted of crimes and served more than 6 years in jail/prison.
19. I believe he has been doing business in California and Arizona without filing properly with those state.
20. He has refused to give clients copies of the papers they signed which were almost always blank at the time of signing.
21. I have never seen him return any deposits that he had taken from renters.
Finally, when I arrived at work the morning of July 15, John came into the office and told me I needed to go with him to Orange County right away. I asked why and he wouldn't say. He was acting strange this morning. Nervous and wouldn't look me in the eye. I knew something was wrong but not sure what. I told him I had a few things to finish up before we go. I was working on getting the phones working. They were down when we came in that morning.
I was in the middle of finishing up with the technician on the phone and John came in and said let's go. I asked where we are going. He said Ventura. I said you just said Orange County. He said I meant Ventura. I said for what. He said to look at properties. Again, he was acting really strange. I knew something was wrong. We got in the car and he went straight to the freeway and got on 101 South at Kanan. Not towards Ventura.
I said what's up John. He said I want to have this talk with you away from the office. He said just so you know, I would snap the neck of anyone that _ucks me over. And there are some other people that are going to be going to prison. I asked for what. He said company espionage. John said he knew that I was sending company information to his partners who he claimed were trying to steal his company which is another huge lie.
For the next hour and a half, John continued to harass me about supposedly being involved in espionage as he calls it. I told him he was crazy and full of _hit and a liar. I was yelling at him for accusing me of such B.S. Finally when we got to Harbor Blvd in Costa Mesa he turned around and on the way back proceeded to tell me that he was only accusing me to see how I would react and to see if he could trust me.
He went on to say that he was going to have to leave town for a month or more on business and that he wanted to train me to go out and get people to sign up for his service and get their deeds like he did with me and so many others. He said I would start making $5k to $20k within a month or two. I told him that I didn't think what he does is legal and that I was so insulted at his accusations that I didn't think I could work for him anymore but he persisted in trying to convince me to do it. I said until you can work things out with your partners and start making money in a legal manner, and pay us what you already owe us, I'm not doing anything else for you.
When we were almost back to the office he said I think you should just go home. I said that's fine but we better stop and get another one of your cars because I'm taking my car back right now if I'm not working for you and you're going out of town. We were in my car. He got really angry and I thought he was going to hit me. He kept saying no, I'm taking you home and I'm keeping your car.
I held my ground and said you are not keeping the car. He said now you are _ucking me and I told you what happens to people that _uck me. I said you need to go get another car. I'm taking mine today. We were almost to my house in Thousand Oaks when John finally turned around and went back to the office. He opened the garage and emptied his things from my car and said that's it between us.
John then demanded that I give him $1000 so he could leave town. I told him absolutely not then he continued to say you are _ucking me over so hard right now. You're _ucking all my plans. Good luck trying to do things you're way. He looked like he was going to kill me. I got in my car and drove away. That same day, July 15th, I signed and notarized a revocation of power of attorney and a letter revoking all authority from him and all his companies and demanded the return of my deeds. I sent certified copies to all his business and residence addresses.
Then I had a realtor friend of mine go on line to check the status of the deed transfers on my properties and found that John had created another set of deeds for the properties and transferred them into land trusts. The deeds were supposedly notarized on April 23. I believe that John and the notary back dated the deeds which would be notary fraud because being an employee of Johns at that date, I don't believe that John had any reason what so ever to create those land trusts (which I don't believe even exist) or to transfer those deeds to the land trusts.
Now, John is telling the current renters that he owns the properties and they need to send him the rents and not communicate with me at all. I have received text messages from the renters indicating they think I am a criminal and they hope I lose everything. This is extremely emotionally disturbing on top of everything else I am having to go through as a result of dealing with John Jennings.
I feel I am a victim of real estate fraud because it became clear to me that John never had any intention of following through on any of the short sales for my properties. This became clear after several months of working for him and he would never follow through on any of the short sales for any of the other client's properties or mine and never once attempted to negotiate with the lender on my car.
John also made it very clear that he was only interested in collecting rents on all clients properties for as long as possible which I believe was also his motivation in getting clients to file bankruptcy or to get his employees to file bankruptcy, often without the clients knowledge or consent, on clients properties that were scheduled for trustee sales.
I also believe that it is illegal the way he has clients including myself, sign and notarize blank documents and not even provide them with copies. And I also believe that he is guilty of rent skimming with my properties and others.
I could have continued making mortgage payments with those rents from my properties that he demanded be paid to him and the wages I was supposed to be getting paid weekly from him. John collected rents from my properties from October to July in the amounts of $2300 a month for one of my rental properties and $1550 a month for another. As a result of John collecting the rents on my properties and not paying my wages, commissions and expenses, my credit has been irreparably damaged due to not being able to pay the bills and John advising me not to pay mortgages and I may still end up losing all 3 of my properties.
Also, John instructed to me file chapter 13 bankruptcy as part of his strategy that he commonly uses on his clients just to keep them from foreclosing.By stopping the foreclosures he is able to continue collecting any rental income from that property so now I have that bankruptcy on my record as well.
I would say to anyone considering doing business with John Jennings or any company that he is affiliated with, it is my opinion that you should seriously reconsider and stay as far away from any dealings with him as possible.
I am very interested in speaking with an attorney who may be interested in helping me. Because of all the rental money and unpaid wages that John has swindled out of me, however I cannot afford an attorney.
If there is already a class action suit going, I would like to be listed and I do have contact information for many other of John's victims, many of whom I believe would also be interested in seeing John brought to justice.
I am probably risking my life by posting this on usacomplaints.com because John has threatened my life already and I have seen personally how upset he gets about the reports about him that get posted on this site but I feel that I have to do everything I can that I know is right in order to prevent the same thing from happening to other innocent people and families. If I turn up dead, please investigate John Jennings. I am very afraid of this man because of things I've heard him say about other people he was angry with. I won't mention those particular comments here but John claims to have association with individuals who can "deal" with people.
I have filed complaints with the Ventura County Sheriff, The Ventura County Court, FBI, Consumer Affairs, The California Department of Labor Comissioner, The Better Business Bureau, The Attorney General's Department of Real Estate, Ventura County District Attorney Investigator's office and the Department of Justice's US Trustee's office.
Please feel free to contact me if you can help me or if I can be of any help to you. Thank you.
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