Scam puts online auctions in limbo

It's bad enough that a Riverview condominium association is still working through foreclosures on its property, but now it has a new problem: auction hijackers.

Jonathan Ellis, an attorney with Shumaker Loop & Kendrick, says the Eagle Palms association he represents can't clear its books on foreclosures because fake bidders are botching court-ordered sales.

Bidders, he says in a release, are paying an initial fee to participate in a foreclosure auction, but then never follow through with the property purchase. Eagle Palms had put several properties up for auction online, finding successful bidders who quickly paid quitclaim deed fees and a 5% deposit on the purchase price.