Ex-agent arrested for renting homes he didn’t own

Former real estate agent Eric Alpert, whose nefarious business practices were brought to light by the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2003, has been arrested by North Las Vegas police for renting homes he did not own or have permission from the owner to rent.

After being arrested Wednesday, Alpert posted bond on his $190,000 bail and was released Friday, North Las Vegas police spokeswoman Chrissie Coon said.

A phone call to Alpert's attorney, Christopher Gellner, was not returned by deadline.

Alpert, 54, has been charged with four counts of burglary; four counts of theft; four counts of obtaining money under false pretenses; and seven counts of forgery. The district attorney's office said it also plans charges on three counts of offering a false instrument.

Alpert identified properties that appeared to be abandoned or in foreclosure, cleaned them up and changed the locks, then rented them cheaply to people who had no suspicion of his wrongdoings.

He had about 20 homes in Las Vegas, some of them titled to living trusts and under the name of his former business, Sherlock Homes, according to Clark County Assessor records.

A 16-page affidavit from the district attorney named several victims who had paid Alpert $1,200 and more for rent and deposits, only to have the owner or an agent from the bank show up to evict them.

Ann Hartman, a Realtor with Keller-Williams who handles bank-assigned homes, said she went to check the occupancy status of a home in Green Valley and found a woman living there with her mother and children. The house was not even habitable, she said.

"She gave me a sad story," Hartman said. "She had to move before. Plus I've run into other people, knocking on doors, some people just moved in, sometimes they've moved three or four times in the last year. It's scary to rent a place in Las Vegas right now."

Alpert has an office for his new business, Klark Kounty Records, at 3225 S. Eastern Ave., but he doesn't have a property manager's license, Hartman said.

Court filings reveal that Alpert apparently continued to engage in real estate activity that's at least similar to what he was doing a few years ago, attorney Mark Connot of Hutchison & Steffen law firm said.

Alpert appears to file an action to quiet title on properties, and if the owner does not appear to contest the action, he receives title to the property, the lawyer said.

Also, a search of the Clark County Recorder's Office found that Alpert continued to file liens on properties as recently as Sept. 4.

"It may be as innocent as a transfer to satisfy outstanding legal fees owed to his attorney, but it is interesting at least," Connot said.

Alpert was fined and had his license revoked by the Nevada Real Estate Division in 2004.

He claimed at that time to be legally taking homes by "adverse possession" under Nevada law, but the attorney general's affidavit notes that NRS 11.150 specifically states that "requirements for adverse possession is occupation continuously for five years" and payment of taxes, which Alpert did not do.