Inglewood woman fights to buy back house after being scammed twice

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- "No es justo. Yo estado pagando mi casa," said Ynes Torres. It's not fair. I have been paying for my house.

Torres dreamed of having a big family. She had three girls of her own then adopted four more children, all siblings, out of L.A.'s foster care system.

She bought her Inglewood home in 2006 to make room for the four new arrivals.

In 2012 the trouble began. Torres tried to consolidate her mortgage payments, but she said she got swindled by two different scammers who took her money and ran.

Torres continued making payments for years believing the loans had been consolidated, but they hadn't been. The home was foreclosed on and sold at auction to Trojan Capital Investments in Newport Beach.

Her story caught the attention of many politicians including Inglewood Mayor James Butts.

"It's terrible when someone takes advantage of someone," Butts said. "Someone took advantage of Miss Torres."

Torres and her three youngest were evicted from their home here in Inglewood just days after Thanksgiving. In December, her family reclaimed the home, moving back in.

For six weeks, community members held a vigil at the house, 24-hours a day, in hopes of stopping another eviction.

"Her savings are in this house and for someone just to come and invest money in it to take us out I think it's unfair," said Torres daughter Janeth Ayala.

Torres is now trying to buy back her home from Trojan Capital, the home where she raised seven children.

"This is an opportunity to teach our community that even though we have these eviction moratoriums in place, it's just a band aid to a big bigger issue in our communities and in our country," said Eddie Cruz, spokesperson for the Lennox-Inglewood Tenants Union.

ABC7 reached out to Trojan Capital Investments and its CEO Don Madden III, but hasn't received a response.

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