The Department yesterday announced a lawsuit against a group of developers, accusing them of using fraudulent land sales to bilk an estimated $25 million from more than a thousand people, primarily senior citizens.

HUD claims Buyers Source, and other similarly named businesses, sold more than 1,000 parcels of land in Florida, South Carolina, Ohio, Arkansas and Missouri at prices that far exceeded their value, sometimes by as much as 3,000 percent.

The Department's complaint alleges Buyers Source approached owners of timeshares with an offer to purchase their shares - in exchange, the victims agreed to purchase lots of land at greatly inflated prices with the false promise of tremendous profit and even gifts.

HUD's complaint paints a complex picture of how Buyers Source and its salespersons would send timeshare owners a post card offering to buy their timeshares "for top dollar" and "without any tricks or gimmicks." Consumers would be directed to meet with Buyers Source salespersons in motel rooms where they were told they must purchase a lot from Buyers Source. The company would sell plots of land for as much as $32,000, after paying only $1,000 to $5,000 to acquire the lots only weeks earlier.

When victims expressed concerns that they could not afford the property, Buyers Source's salespersons used high-pressure sales tactics and promised consumers the lots were such a good value, they would earn a profit within 18 months.

The North Carolina Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division first discovered this fraudulent operation and HUD's subsequent investigation quickly found the abusive operation specifically targeted senior citizens living in several states.

Buyers Source is based in the Tidewater, Virginia area.