Oct 23, 2021 3 min read

A federal grand jury has indicted four people – including three from the South Hills – in two separate cases alleging they used a federal Housing and Urban Development program designed for homeowners that was instead used to “flip” houses for profits.

The indictment in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh was unsealed recently and claims the defendants made thousands in profits by applying through HUD to purchase foreclosed houses in what should have been prioritized for families who intended to occupy the homes.

J. Reed Pirain, 45, and Renee Vasilko, 48, who are siblings and Upper St. Clair residents, were each indicted on felony charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and false statements after investigators said they falsified an application to make it appear that Vasilko planned to occupy a foreclosed house she had purchased, according to court documents.

Vasilko was able to bid on the property before other investors because she indicated she planned to live in the house as part of her HUD application used on foreclosed homes that defaulted on federal loans. She paid $67,800 for the foreclosed house in the Brookline neighborhood of Pittsburgh in February 2018, but sold it for $189,900 in March 2019 after “flipping” it by making extensive renovations, according to court documents.

Pirain is a licensed real estate agent and represented Vasilko in the purchase. Both are partners at NextHome PPM Realty in Dormont and officers at Pirain Enterprises Inc.

In a separate but similar case, Matthew Durbin, 41, of McMurray, and Richard Sunseri, 36, of Pittsburgh, are accused of purchasing foreclosed properties in Bethel Park and Dormont in 2016 and 2017 before selling the houses less than a year after their purchase and splitting the profits, according to court documents. Investigators said the two are both licensed real estate agents and represented each other on the two sales, while writing in their applications that they planned to occupy the houses they each purchased.

Durbin sold his Bethel Park house for $200,000 in March 2017 less than 12 months after purchasing the property for $113,000. Durbin is listed as a real estate agent in South Fayette.

Sunseri sold his Dormont house for $235,000 in December 2017 after purchasing the property for $99,000 six months earlier. Sunseri is listed as real estate agent with NextHome PPM Realty, according to its website.

Both are charged with two felony counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one felony charge of false statements.

All four defendants, who were indicted Sept. 21, are free on $10,000 unsecured bond.

The HUD’s “Single Family Property Disposition” program that the defendants are accused of defrauding involves helping families purchase properties that they intend to occupy. Federal investigators said the schemes for profit allow real estate investors to purchase properties by outbidding families while also “jumping the line” to make their bids.