Source: Fox 13 News —
MORGAN, Utah — Shelly and Reed McDermott have spent 20 years in their home here, raising their family along the way.
“We planned to use this as the retirement home to sell and go into retirement,” Shelly McDermott said.
In late November, they reached an agreement with a buyer who also was a title agent. Ryan Goodrich, the founder of Synergy Title Insurance Agency, of Clearfield, agreed to pay the couple $1.6 million, according to the McDermotts and documents reviewed by FOX 13 News.
The couple says they were never paid. Yet Goodrich still borrowed against their home using documents the state of Utah says included forgeries of the McDermotts’ signatures.
“We think the signatures,” Shelly McDermott said, “came from our original, our title, that anyone can get off of the internet.”
There were prior lawsuits accusing Goodrich of not forwarding money owed to lenders, yet the Utah Department of Insurance didn’t suspend Goodrich’s license until after getting alerted about the McDermott case.
No criminal charges have been filed against Goodrich, age 39. He called FOX 13 after he learned the station was investigating him. Goodrich denied any wrongdoing.
“In our industry, reputation is everything,” Goodrich said. “As soon as my name is on the news, then my five kids are living off of hot dogs and Top Ramen.”
He added: “But nothing bothers me more than when someone questions my integrity.”
As the closing date neared on the sale of the McDermotts’ home, they repeatedly asked for paperwork and the money. Text messages from Goodrich, which the McDermotts shared with FOX 13, show he made excuses.
“Sorry, I have been super super sick,” reads one text message Goodrich sent.
“I fell down my stairs this morning from being so sick.”
A week later, he texted: “I have the worst food poisoning.”
Meanwhile, sellers in another transaction involving Goodrich’s title company were trying to figure out why their mortgage hadn’t been paid off. Besides making sure real estate is clear to be sold, title companies send money in the transaction to where it’s supposed to go.
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