Attorney General Mayes Sues to Save Home of Equity Stripping Victim

PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a lawsuit today to stop the foreclosure of a home wrongfully taken in an equity stripping scheme. The lawsuit alleges that local attorney William A. Kozub collaborated with Sam Sutton to create a sham foreclosure that would eliminate the Attorney General's ability to return the home to its rightful owner in the ongoing consumer fraud and racketeering lawsuit against Sutton and other defendants.

The home is currently occupied by Andrea Gecho, who purchased the property in 2022 for $545,000 in cash following the death of her husband of 36 years. Ms. Gecho lives there with her daughter and grandson. In 2023, she fell behind on payments to a home equity line of credit taken out to cover her late husband's medical bills. Sutton's team convinced her she was simply refinancing the overdue loan — when in fact Sutton defrauded Ms. Gecho and had taken ownership of the property.

"Ms. Gecho did not even know her home had been sold to Sam Sutton until my team called her to discuss the pending foreclosure," said Attorney General Mayes. "If we had not filed this lawsuit, Ms. Gecho and her family would face eviction from a home she believed she still owned."

The lawsuit alleges Kozub created 316 Financial LLC solely to acquire a $78,000 lien on the home. A foreclosure auction is scheduled for June 12. If the auction proceeds, Ms. Gecho will lose her home regardless of the outcome of the equity stripping case — and any proceeds above the $78,000 debt would go directly to Sutton.

Several facts alleged in the lawsuit suggest Kozub is working with Sutton. Kozub has worked for Sutton since at least 2018 and helped him create a fake "school" used to recruit equity stripping victims. After the Attorney General filed the equity stripping lawsuit, Kozub shielded a Sutton-owned home from it by transferring it to a trust controlled by Danielle Sutton, Sam Sutton's ex-wife. Kozub also named his own law partner as the trustee to conduct the sale, and Sutton — who has the ability to halt the auction — has chosen not to do so.

This is not Kozub's first attempt at this tactic. In 2012, Kozub filed liens against properties disputed in a bank fraud lawsuit and attempted to foreclose on them. A court halted those auctions and sanctioned Kozub $5,000 for misleading statements. On appeal, he was ordered to pay an additional $13,000 in attorneys' fees for arguments found to be groundless and not made in good faith.

The lawsuit also brings consumer fraud claims against Ferrin Travis and Danielle Sutton. Travis allegedly initiated contact with Ms. Gecho, built trust and then misled her into signing over title to her home. The escrow company handling the transaction ultimately refused to close it, citing concerns about the validity of Ms. Gecho's signature and the notary involved.

Danielle Sutton is named for her role as the primary point of contact between Ms. Gecho and Sam Sutton's operation. She collected monthly payments from Ms. Gecho for years under false pretenses, attempted to block Ms. Gecho from learning about the foreclosure — despite an Arizona law requiring notice within five days — and continued collecting payments after her real estate license expired in 2025.

"The most important goal of this lawsuit is to save Ms. Gecho's home," said Attorney General Mayes. "But we will keep pursuing consumer fraud claims against Ferrin Travis and Danielle Sutton, seeking to permanently ban them from residential real estate transactions in Arizona. I will do the same for every equity stripping scammer in this state. If you have been a victim of a similar scheme, please contact my office."

A copy of the complaint is available.