Me and my family members were RIPPED-OFF and gave in to SLIVER SADDLE's sales and marketing strategy. We bought 2 units from the so-called GALILEO PROJECT, which is approximately .025 acre/unit for a price of 20K, with 15.9% interest, 20% down payment. The Seller, Lender and Escrow are Silver Saddle Ranch and Club. All rolled into one.
But first, let me tell you how we got there. So we got a phone call telling us that we won a consolation prize which includes a buffet dinner, his/her watch, and a "family weekend getaway + free gas and grocery voucher + free use of amenities to a ranch." Very enticing isn't it? So we all went there. Next day was a TOUR AND PRESENTATION DAY. Very promising, made us all believe that it's a good investment. We were trying to google what they were selling, unfortunately there's NO WIFI. So for them to be able to persuade us to buy was they keep on giving us discounts. The original price of that piece of land was $31,000.00. And went down to $25,000.00. Then to $20,000.00, $19,990.00 to be exact. So we felt pressured. An 11K discount for a piece of land sounds like a good deal isn't it? And so we closed the deal that same day. And on signing of contract, they didn't even let us read it thoroughly, but rushed us by just telling us few bits and pieces on what's written on the contract.
And now, we realized that that's a big mistake. And we're in the process of terminating the contract.
I'm inviting ALL VICTIMS OF SILVER SADDLE RANCH to speak up, and get in touch with me. I'll be inviting my reporter friend to cover and conduct interview to let this SCAM go public. Please PM me.
people like you who think its a scam are nothing but ordinary middle class income narrowed minded people. thats why the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer because of non sense comments you spread around the community.
We have the same lured situation as they did to everyone too. Now We need help to terminate the payment and get off of it.. If we do. They threatened us to report to credit bureau. Pls help..
The Scam at Silver Saddle Ranch and Club is a scam
Silver Saddle Ranch and Club is a scam and we are looking for an Attorney to take our case to court. they made a lot of promises and kept none. We pay dues for a membership we can't even use, they took almost two thousand more out of one of our Bank account than we owed on our contract and they say we still owe them another $2000. Again they took money out of our Bank trying to charge us $55 for a towel that they say was taken from our room (right) I am fed up with there scam. Silver Saddle Ranch and Club are trying to extorted us for more money now. We bought the into the proposal for $27990 we paid $6793 Deposit.then the remainder of $22.392 and they added another $2000 to the payment after we signed the documents without our authorization. and now they want us to pay another $2000 and the contract said a total amount for the Investment was $27990 dalliers nothing more nothing less. We are not going to let them get away with this.
I was there. Saw the song books in Chinese and Spanish which indicates they target the immigrant community. They tried to rob me for 32k but I told the salesman to go pound sand. Been robbed by Dockers like him before.
My family went there and same situation they were offered this lot and share and automatic deduction everymonth. When my mom got home i told them i feel like that is a scam but too late she already signed and credit card has been charge for $2800
Who to call to file a case against this BS scammers?
hi...my family and I recently bought a unit as well in October 2015. I will love to learn more of what youre doing in terms of figuring if this is truly a scam or not. Please call me if you ever see this at (323) 495 3275. If I dont answer please leave me a voicemail. Please help my family of burying ourselves further in something worth potentially nothing. I want to know what you have found out please! Thanks
I just saw this post. This is 2015 I was wondering if this case is stil on going because I have the same issue. I bought mine in 2016 and I’m still paying it. I had contacted one of the Galileo representatives, I wanted to cancel my contract because I can’t afford to pay the monthly payment anymore. The option they gave me was either pay it in full or stop paying it. I don’t know what to do.
Silver Saddle Ranch and Club is a scam and we are looking for an Attorney to take our case to court. they made a lot of promises and kept none. We pay dues for a membership we can use use, they took almost two thousand more out of one of our Bank account more than we owed and they say we still owe more money. they wanted to charge us $55 for a towel that they say was taken from our room (right) I am fed up with there scam. Silver Saddle Ranch and Club are trying to extorted us for more money. we paid 2k Deposit then the remainder of 27k and 2k they added to the payment after we signed the documents now they want us to pay another 2k and the contract said a total of 27k was due and they did this to several of our friends, We are not going to let them get away with this.
Hi. Me and my family recived the paper as well saying we are winners. Is there anyway we can stay for free or do we have to agree about buying there shitty land?
We are in the same situation and wish to join any one others that have become a victim of silver saddle ranch Grand scam.
Please share. so far the comments are leading no where there is no contact info or ways for any one to connect please feel free to contact me directly at [email protected] perhaps we could join resources and hire an expert attorney to help recover our investment. I my self self also have a good friend at Univision anchor man but before approaching him we nees to built a strong case. Please include your email.
My wife and I fell victim to this scam in May 2015. I talked to a law firm in CA today, and was advised to rally together a group of victims to take on Silver Saddle. The firm did not take on my case because the cost of litigation would far exceed the amount that my wife and I paid for the land. The lawyer does fee that we were scammed, and may be interested in taking on the case if a group of us rallied and pooled our resources together.
I also want out of contract. What can I do and do you have any lawyer or agency to assist us to talk to silver saddle . I don't care if there's no refund but just need to be out
Of the contract and never be charged every quarter with additional fee
Hi there, we're in the same situation like you and this happened to us recently. We did also close a deal with SSR last October 22, 2016. We also want to be out of the contract.. How did you terminate your contract with them..?
I'm an amateur journalist currently doing an investigative piece involving Silver Saddle Ranch, and what I believe to be unethical if not illegal business practices regarding land banking in the California City area. If any of you have time to spare, I would love to ask some questions about the specifics of your experience with Silver Saddle Ranch. I would especially love to hear from anyone who has contact with other victims, anyone who believes they may have been specifically targeted as a Filipino, or anyone who has spoken to a lawyer about the contract you signed for this "Galileo Project." Your identity would be protected if you so choose.
Call California Department of Business Oversight about this scam at Silver Saddle. I believe Kenny Nguyen is the Attorney and his number at the Capital is (916) 322-8782. He is trying to get a hold of more victims.
For those who bought land in silver saddle ranch pls do not easily believe on people's comment but rather search on your own. You can't avoid people saying it is a scam because of these reasons: First, they don't understand that's why they have doubts. Second, they heard bad comments from others. And I don't think it's a valid reason. You have to understand that Silver Saddle is like any other businesses out there that they will use some form of marketing. And yes their form of marketing is for the members to invite people and the other form is making you win so you can avail the free activities and all other free. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's good because it is free for individual and family to enjoy. I disagree with those people that says they are forcing you to buy or sign because for me as long they are not pointing a gun in you then they are not forcing you but rather they are just convincing you which is normal for doing a business. I experience that with my 3 friends that goes there, they did not buy and has not been forced. If anybody can prove to me that they are not registered in a county and not active to do business transaction then I will believe you. Because I already search for it and they are legit to transact business so in short it is not a scam. If you think the price is overprice then you have to understand that it is expected because it is not intended for housing but rather a commercial one. What you are buying is land banking and land banking has been there long time already and those people who believe in it are now millionaires. This type of business is only for those who believe in risk and who are positive thinkers. Hope this can help to clarify things and for those who still doubts then it's your choice. As for me I am confident that this will be a good fortune someday.
Hi same thing happened to us. Same scenario they said we won the consolation price and got invited to their ranch overnight for free. Would you be able to tell us if you were able to resolve this and how. We gave our downpayment through the credit card. Thank you
Is there a way where can contact you about this situation. We are victims as well. Were you able to terminate the contract? Please respond as soon as you can, thank you.
We want to know what you did to cancel that contract. I dont care if we dont get a refund. As long as we can get out of that contract. They are a SCAM!!!! Please help!!!
We purchase a portion of land from Silver Saddle Ranch & Club in 20751 Aristotle Drive P.O. Box 2518 California City, CA 93504 last August 2, 2015. It all started when someone called us that we won a free dinner for 2 from Seafood City, which turned out to be from Silver Saddle Ranch & Club, but when we reached the place, they showed us a presentation about their Resort. They said that the free dinner for 2 comes with a free weekend vacation to their Resort, but then we we reached the place, they did not give us that free vacation, instead they sell us a portion of land which we did not see.
Then they forced us to agree and sign in reliance upon their representations & promises. We were asked to sign documents or do something we did not understand or feel was appropriate. They mislead and defraud us.
They immediately get from our credit card our full deposit. We did not appear personally before Nile Almudarris, a Notary Public in Kern County, CA on August 2, 2015 we did not meet or see this person. Their agent Marian Ducreux, the real estate broker let us faced her 2 sons only.
Afterwards, we search and found out from the State of California, Bureau of Real Estate, Real Estate Business, Boards & Bureaus Department of Consumers Affairs, & Better Business Bureau that the land sale scheme of Silver Saddle Ranch & Club has no matching public record was found for Licensee, has no Licensee issued, and is not BBB Accredited. They are not even a Real Estate Business, they are Health and Wellness Business, and it's been going on since July 25, 1985.
We called her to cancel our deed sale before we received the escrow, but she told us our escrow already closed, then she emailed us that she will forward our request to their corporate office. Her replies were confusing.
In just a matter of 4 days, they closed the escrow, we think that they intentionally closed the escrow quickly. We send them a letter, but no one has called back. This Club is a Deceiver.
We also fell into this. I hated paying for it. Whatever you may call it, scam or whatever, still we were not held in gunpoint to sign the contract or give the deposit. We all did it voluntarily, with sheer ignorance. I never wanted to go thru it, I blame my husband for being so excited with the shiny object promises from SSR. I cant stop him, he was so convinced like he won the jackpot. After 2 years of paying the monthly dues, we just stopped paying them. Just not worth it.
Despite the above review saying,'It's Legit',NOT true. I was a victim of this in the 1980s. Thankfully, I realized what happened to me after I returned home,took a loss on the deposit which was around $2,000 and within a short time (I believe a week or so)was able to sign it back to them. At the time, they had lots of suckers, so they didn't mind getting it back for free.
Please help us on how to cancel that contract. We were so stupid to buy from them. We just want to opt out. Its somewhat ok to lose the downpayment than to lose 20k more. I am more concerned now that it may have an effect on our credit.
My family has been scammed too. We paid more than $12,000 for the land (gladly we only purchased half of it. ) plus all hidden charges. We appraised the land that we bought through APN no. through the Kern County California Assessor Recorder Online and found out that the TRUE VALUE of the piece of land that we bought is less than $140. Our hard work and effort got wasted! We are not rich. So every penny counts. We need to fight this SCAM!
DON'T LET ALL YOUR HARD WORK GO TO WASTE! Let's rescue each other and all others who got scammed!
I made this email for all of us who've been scammed. We are working to have our contract terminated but we need more members with the same situation to make a strong case. Contact me so we can all STOP THIS SCAM.
Hi. We were very interested with the concept of land banking presented by saddle ranch. We even get to buy too. But when we were to settle everything in cash, we were told that we cannot cancel membership of 40$ a month, and will be obligated to pay for the rest our lives being a unit owner. I dont need that and i didnt even like the ranch. Now we are about to cancel it. We may lose some money but it is better than losing 20k$. Im looking for a lawyer before the escrow closes in 30days.
Don't buy and definitely don't give out credit card information
A good friend of mine invited me to silver saddle ranch for a weekend of fun. It turns out that it was a sales pitch. He never said that I was going to be pressured to buy a piece of investment into the so called and over priced Galileo Project. What a rip off. They instruct their members not to give out information about the project before bringing you there, only to said how great it is. Their marketing scheme and scam is so well organized that I almost invested in it. They do everything so fast, they talk about all the good projects in Kern county (not even close to the overpriced .025 acres piece of land they are trying to sale you for 25K), they don't allow for questions, they make you feel that all these other presentations are waiting and there is no time for questions, they make you believe that all units will be purchased by the Chinese investors ( let the Chinese buy them all, (actually Chinese people are not stupid to buy here either)), they make you believe that if you bring in others as referals, you will get bonuses that will pay for your own investment (this actually looks to me very much like a pyramid scheme (and scam)). The most funny thing about the whole scheme is when they make a sale (rip off someone), they scream so loud to make you feel that you are going to miss out on the opportunity. And when your friend or someone that you know brings you to this presentation and seats next to you as they are trying to get you to sign, you feel (double) pressure to buy becuase you don't want to let your friend down.They never focus on the lifetime association fee that you are getting yourself into (probably for Marian and all her sons, daughters, and extended family members helping her run the scheme). Or I wouldn't be surprised if all these people leave the country to spend your hard earned money in the Philipines. I could keep on going with my opinions and observations, but the bottom line is DON'T BUY, and definitely don't give your credit card for a downpayment, you will be put through hell and back trying to get it credited if you choose not to invest after all.
Get Help! Call these attorneys! Or call the California Consumer Protection Agency, Or the State Attorney General
I was pressured to buy into this scam but by a blessing from God my credit card transaction would not go through for the deposit and I told them that I would not sign my contract until I called my credit card company to find out why. This gave me the break that I needed to come up with an excuse/lie that someone had stolen my credit card info. and that I would fix that first before finalizing my contract. I left that place that same minute, the guy that had invited me there had a BBQ going and he could not understand why I didn't want to eat before leaving. Anyways, all these people at silver saddle ranch should be in jail. But since the authorities have not been contacted by anyone of us that have been pressured to buy by means that I am sure any jury would agree as being illegal:
-Deceptive marketing to get you to silver saddle ranch
-High pressure sales tactics (presentations)
-Not allowing for questions during their presentations
-Not allowing you to read the contract before you sign (by making you feel that you are preventing them from closing a sale with another victim, or waiting their time by asking for time to read the contract, or asking questions about the contract)
-Charging you that 15% interest rate for an overpriced (25k) for .25 acres of land
-Never telling you that there is a life time association fee that you can never cancel and that will continue to increase
-For providing a separate presentation in Spanish for those that don't speak English then providing the contract only in English when they know them well that you only speak Spanish or Tagalog
-Not disclosing that silver saddle ranch is the seller, the lender, and the scrow company all roll in one. Please know that they did not do this to help you, they did it so they can speed the closing process and not give you enough time to realize that you made a big mistake and cancelling your contract.
I can not comprehend how Mariann and her whole family members can do this to their fellow Filipino brothers and sisters. If you do the numbers, silver saddle ranch is making about or over $100 million dollars by selling 1,030 acres to 4,000 members at an average of $25,000 per each .25 acre unit. This means that as soon as you sign your contract, they are making $97,000 for each acre of land (now I comprehend why Mariann and her extended family do not care about ripping off their own fellow Filipino nationals).
You and probably 6 generations of your family will never see any return on this investment, In fact, once you add the association fee that will continue to increase probably every year or two, you have just made the worst investment for your family and future generations. You should go to jail for been so stupid. Anyways, there are so many illegal sale tactics being used at silver saddle galileo project that God will forgive for being a victim. What I can recommend is for you to call (800) 811-7670 to ask for help to cancel your contract, if enough victims call, maybe they can turn this into a class action lawsuit (of the century). These attorneys are experts at cancelling contracts signed under pressured, do not delivered the returns promised, which essentially means every single contract illegally signed by silver saddle ranch deceptive tactics. You can also report these people to the California Consumer Protection Agency, or the Attorney General. Good luck my friends and God bless you.
(If you notice that I did not even capitalized the silver saddle ranch name or the galileo project is because they don't even deserve that)
California Business Oversight v. Silver Saddle Ranch
Contact Robert Lux (619.525.3729) of the California Department of Business Oversight to stop this continuing scam. There is a lawsuit to stop them from keep selling desert land with false information and promises to new victims and possibly canceling the contract. He needs witnesses. May justice prevail.
we bought a land at silver saddle ranch on 2002 and now we call because we were thinking about selling land and we found this, my name is Carlos phone number is 661-310-8116 please help
Same story with me. Beware of Marian and his kids, I paid down payment by credit card. I filed a dispute the next day right away. Sent a letter of cancellation to Marian as well as a certified letter to the Vice President. Under California law you have the right to rescission meaning to cancel/terminate the contract without loosing the deposit money. I filed a dispute with the credit card companies. We will not pay them no matter what..... Please inform everyone of this scam going around in Island Pacific and Seafood Market. This companies need to be notified of this scheme.
The claim they have about 2000 members and they charge a maintenance fee of $164 every 3 months they collect a year 1,312,000.00 a yer. one year ago they claim they had a bout 2000 members that they we so close to get to their goal now one year an months later they keep saying that they where about to get to the 2000 members and that their we able to reach those 2000 members in one year if they have 2000 one year ago then one year later they have to have 4000 members and not 2000 Jose or Joe claims that the where able to get there in one year so the Matt does not add there. They are not giving a piece of land from the ranch because the will run out of it if they do that. This way they can keep selling the membership all day long even to 1,000,000.00 members so they project never ends they dont have a date when they project will start and they claim that lots of companies are waiting for them to move in and star building. When I ask them what are you selling me they said a member ship of the ranch where I'll be charge every time I go. they put pressure on member to invite people so they dont have to pay so if I dont the a friend or any invites they charge me. I have they several friends and thanks god they have not buy anything from them. They get your credit card and ID claiming that they need it in case that something happen but hotels in reality need only one credit card that is required only from the person that reserves the room and they are collecting credit cards from members and invites at the same time that way they can get your down payment from it. According to the the land worth 12,000,000.00 to them witch I I doubt it. The owner is collecting money from members and is going to get members to buy it from him? but some how He will remain the owner? this project according to my research is been going on from 1985 they said that when they get to the 2000 members they will buy the ranch from the owner the price it will be $500.000 so if the ranch cost $12,000.000 now the owner is Santa clause and is going to give away the ranch for that amount? of course not. Their only goal is to get that money out of the way and keep collecting more along with more members. just in 5 years with 2000 members they collect $6,560,000.00 on maintenance fees for the ranch plus the sale or the memberships ? I'll go low they sale it for about $24,000 with discounts but lets pretend that they make only $10,000 on each sale so $20,000.00 x 2000 members is $20,000,000.00 all this Galileo Project is design to help the ranch and not the members. Ranch need tons of repairs on the rooms on baths even in the front office trashcan is broken all the bikes are old and seats cover with tapes the carts used to clean the rooms are super old and handles are cover with black tapes wood Bridges are super old and lose tables are all over painted and cracked it is a end less list and I dont have time to name all of this maintenance problems.
Simple. What they sale?
1 member ship for a broken ranch that charge you every time you go.They used the money that the only destination and or purpose is to maintenance the ranch but they are using the money in something else.
2 Discount packages for vacations
3. If you pay cash a lot on a unknown area that is worth from $2,000 to $3,000 but they sale it to you at a higher price so you end up paying more in taxes every year that the real value of the property or land.
Do not for get a life time payment every e months for $164 plus the fee to join for $24,000.00 after Discounts but if you dont pay cash then will will get around 16% interest =) they make me sick.
at the end you will not have any more money to travel.
Soon I'll be posting links with photos that I have been taking in my lost visits from all this scammers that give you this call tour or presentation. The only reason I go back is to take this photos and get a case together where this sales people is going to regret get the savings of all this hard working families that trust in them and their commission earn in this scam is not going to be enough to pay for their own lawyer.
I trapped in this scam contract on 2017. I found a law suit form from Department of Business Oversight that telling THE INTERESTS IN THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND OF THE LankBanking Plus+/Galileo Project investment WERE NOT REGISTERED AS SECURITIES WITH THE Department of Business Oversight OR ANY FEDERAL SECURITIES REGULATORY BODIES. IN FACT, INVESTMENT DOCUMENTS PROVIDED TO INVESTORS STATED THAT :[N]EITHER THE SUBJECT PROPERTY NOT THIS DISCLOSURE STATEMENT HAVE BEEN REVIEWED OR APPROVED BY ANY NATIONAL, STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL BODY OR REGULATORY AGENCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I already stopped my payment and found a lawyer to suit them. However, what my lawyer told me is no victims have any bad credit report YET. Not sure later??? If you want to join the lawsuit, please send me an email with [email protected]!!!
I bought my land last 2008 and paid it off after 5 years. As well as I'm paying a property tax of the piece of land from Kern County. Even my friends found everything legitimate. NOTHING IS SCAM. We found it a good investment.
Hello. So same thing happened to my parents.closed the deal. Then i told my mom it is a scam!!!!!! Talked to this Marian! She even said i am disrespectful. If that is not a 7hrs drive from our place i will go to their office and idk what i can do bec i am really mad how they fool people! Anyways i need help how to cancel this. They said my parents cant cancel this anymore.
Were you able to cancel the contract? Please help!!! We want out too... This is a scam!! We were so stupid to fall into that. I hope this will shed light and hopefully get an answer from other victims like you.
I went to their presentation in the early 1990's. The lots were around $12,000. All I saw was empty sand and a few props ( future utilities). There is nothing to draw people here such as a ski resort, beautiful lake, natural surroundings, government project, etc. I figured the desert wind would cover it in 25 years, however it is still going. It's value is still desert sand and people's hope for the American dream. I did not buy. I feel sorry for those who did and used their hard earned money for a very, very risky gamble that they did not understand and were incredibly pressured into.
My wife and I were scammed Silver Saddle in May 2015. We bought 1/2 of 1/4000 of interest in the land they were selling in Kern County. Looking up the values of the 8 APNs associated with Silver Saddle and doing some math, my interest is only worth $132 and I paid over $12,000.
I spoke with a CA law firm, and was told I was definitely scammed. However, they did not take up the case with me as an individual because the cost of litigation would far exceed the amount of money I'd recoup. They did, however, offer to look into the case if I rallied enough people who were willing to stand against Silver Saddle.
Can any one tell me what makes this a bad invested not on a property but on a club memeship that will roll over to owership of the ranch the property was a not counted as part of investment .
We are concern but not worry we will reach this worrisome point in about 3 years thats when sometning should be happening
We are on the same situation likeothers here. We need help to opt out of contract. I know how stupid we were when we signed the contract but just like the rest of you, we want out. Please help us find ways.
We also received a phone call telling us that we won a consolation prize which includes a buffet dinner, his/her watch, and a "family weekend getaway + free gas and grocery voucher + free use of amenities to a ranch."
During Marian Ducreux’s presentation to some group of people, she said that a unit of the Galileo Project costs $31,000.00 but if we buy with a 20% down payment on that day it will cost only $22,000.00
Marlin Tajo claimed to be our sales agent for that day, but since she has another table to attend to, she asked a lady named Cathy to gather our concerns or questions about the business. We said we don’t intend to buy a unit of the Galileo Project so she asked us to wait and came back with Marian Ducreux with her in our table.
Marian Ducreux, a broker, DRE Lic #01171503 offered us a lower price from $22,000 down to $19,900.00 with an additional free residential lot of Tract 3282 if we pay the full amount in cash. We said that we don’t have that much money to pay in cash. She then asked us if we have some sort of stocks like 401k. We said yes and she advised us to make a loan from our stocks since the interest of our loan will go back to our account anyway. She said that getting a free residential lot is like winning a lottery so she considered us very lucky. She showed us the lot which is not very far from Silver Saddle Ranch. Right that moment, Marlin Tajo took over the transaction. Marlin asked us how is our credit score and when we said that our score is high, she offered us an additional free cruise for 4 days for me and my husband on top of the free lot. With these offers we were a bit convinced but not fully convinced. Marlin reminded us how great the investment is and our additional benefits if we purchase a unit and become a part of the Galileo project like the Elite Advantage program, in addition to the discounted travel fares and hotels worldwide and free use of the Silver Saddle Ranch & Club. She also added a free his &her watches.
On top of the purchase, there is an association fee of $40.00/month.
So we end up signing the contract with Marlin Tajo at around 3 pm, feeling hungry and tired already.
On our way back home, we suddenly realized that the transaction was a scam. We did not even witness our documents being notarized in front of us, they just had us sign and did our thumb marks. I am not even sure if the man who took our thumb marks is a licensed notary public. The location of the claimed Galileo project is way far out in the desert, so many miles away from asphalted streets. I sent a text message and an email to Marian and Marlin to cancel the transaction right that moment, about two hours after we signed the contract but Marlin texted me back saying that we do not have the right to rescind or cancel the contract since it was already executed. As of now, I am in the process of doing something to get our down payment and terminating the contract.
I am one of the suckers who signed the contract with empty promises and still paying for lifetime association fees monthly. By reading all the victims comments, I am going through the same situations. I wish we can come together and stop these scammers. There's no future for these investments...maybe in hundreds of years. Please help! I am about to cancel my contract and give up this golden opportunity for a handful of sand.
I am also a victim. I bought mine in 2012. With a free empty land coz I pay cash. And Im suffering now coz Im paying property tax twice a year also paying that membership fee. I want to sell the land or give it back to kern county free. Been wasting lots of money paying property tax & maintenance fee. Please help
if you bought something and you later on decide you dont want it anymore, how is that a scam?
how is it a scam if you got into something that you knew that was way over
your head? and now you want to back out?
thats why Filipinos will always be “middle class” workers, this crab mentality will get
you!
Scam this, Scam that... its a business, you think your iPhone really cost $1000?!? lol thats a $5 dollar phone thats made in China. Yet you will fall in line to be the first one to get it, but when it comes down to INVESTING in your future you are quick to call the project a SCAM??? Get A Life!!!
how do you think Advertising and Marketing works?
Some people just got way in over their head and are now just trying to find a way to get out of a legitimate business transaction.... hahaha you people are losers!
My parents bought land in 2001 and I was only 9 years old. Now I'm building my business and searching for real estate opportunities only to find out that the vacant commercial land that my parents own is only dropping in value, yet, they're still paying property taxes on it. I spoke with a real estate agent who says that he an put it in the market for $5k at the most which means that we've lost over $30k already - taking an inflation rate of 2.07% in consideration.
With the language barrier of speaking broken english, they were taken advantage of being sold land that had no real value. The commercial land is in the middle of nowhere, with no roads, no pavement, no civilization. The nearest home is 3.8 miles away, even then, California City is a desert that lacks life, let alone commercial real estate developement. There is no water, no electricity, nothing.
After looking at the numbers and realizing who had truly happened, it is extremely disheartening. A lesson to myself and everyone out there who likes to spend money, be careful on what you invest in and do your research.
I am also in the process of looking at filing a lawsuit if possible. Don't hesitate to reach out if you think you can help. Thanks in advanced.
I'm a victim of this scam. I need help to get my money back. They took away more than $27k in my credit cards plus monthly hidden fees worth up to $200/month. I've been exchanging emails with them since 2 month ago but seems like they're ignoring me. Please find me a lawyer to talk to them.
somebody has to be blame.THE business establishment who puts all these lotteries ...
BLAME it on where it started....SOMEBODY has to be blame ...MISLEADING people to a very bad investment.SUE SEAFOOD CITY and ISLAND PACIFIC for being part of this.....
We got a phone call telling us that we won a consolation prize which includes a buffet dinner, his/her watch, and a "family weekend getaway + free gas and grocery voucher + free use of amenities to a ranch." Very enticing isn't it? So we all went there. Next day May 21/2004 was a TOUR AND PRESENTATION DAY. Very promising, made us all believe that it's a good investment. So for them to be able to persuade us to buy was they keep on giving us discounts from the original price for one day only. So we felt pressured. And so we closed the deal that same day. And on signing of contract, they didn't even let us read it thoroughly, but rushed us by just telling us few bits and pieces on what's written on the contract with total of US$33,990 for the land that can build two houses in near future. We keep to pay property tax for more than 13 years. Now we found out the area located my land still the raw lands not developing. And the value only US$5000. It is a scam! Why our law permit the kind of business still exist. Anybody can help to bring them to justice.
I bought my land last 2008 and paid it off after 5 years. As well as I'm paying a property tax of the piece of land from Kern County. Even my friends found everything legitimate. NOTHING IS SCAM. We found it a good investment.
My wife and I fell victim to this scam in May 2015. We purchased 1/2 of 1/4000 of interest in the land defined by the Silver Saddle APNs. If you look up the land value on the Kern County Appraiser and do the math, I paid thousands of dollars for a piece of land that is worth only $132. Also, the notary Niles Almadurris did not personally appear before me. It was Marian Ducreux who did not even include her full name on the contract- just her first. I spoke with a CA law firm that said that we were definitely scammed. However, they were unwilling to take on the case with me as an individual because the cost of litigation would far exceed the amount I paid for the land. The firm, however, did say that it may take up the case if a group of us who were scammed were to pool together in a lawsuit against Silver Saddle.
I am definitely looking to take action against Silver Saddle with others who are willing to fight. Please, reply if you are willing to take action against Silver Saddle.
Good thing i read all you comments, we're about to go there this weekend bec it has free accommodations but reading all those comments nah id rather stay at home
I was very happy to read posts about this complicated land scam that Silver Saddle Ranch is conducting. My friend also fell victim to the scam and was fraudulently induced to sign a contract that was written in English, when her first language is Spanish.
This land will doubtfully be developed and she will never see a dime from this scam of an investment in her lifetime. It's a shame there are people out there taking the money of hard working people who may not be business savvy but have dreams of owning land.
Please do research before makign any land investment. If it sounds too good to be true - IT'S NOT TRUE.
There are several experts trying to get her out of this contact that charges 16% interest (costing $40,000 in total) on a piece of land that is worth probably nothing or a fraction of what they are selling it for.
Would LOVE any information or advice from anyone who was able to get out of their contract. [email protected]
The asset of Silver Saddle had been frozen by department of business oversight: https://dbo.ca.gov/enf-s/silver-saddle-ranch-club-inc/ We don't take no long response for the payment. Any victims who got negative credit report from Equiant Financial Service(Probably the collection company), please contact EXPERIAN(the credit report company) to file a dispute with the judgement document that you can get from the above website. I'm trying to do this also~
Owners received grant deeds to the properties from the county. Owners become members of an existing resort . They could use most of the amenities for free. Everyone is treated fairly. Owners can visit anytime! What is the scam here?
My family went there and same situation they were offered this lot and share and automatic deduction everymonth. When my mom got home i told them i feel like that is a scam but too late she already signed and credit card has been charge for $2800
Who to call to file a case against this BS scammers?
Me and my boyfriend were almost been victimized by this silver saddle ranch landbanking thing. we drove 6 hours from sacramento all the way to california city to have our free weekend get away with full hotel accomodations from them. i received a call from them that i won the raffle, a free dinner for two and a his and hers watch set. i brought by boyfriend with me and they showed us a presentation showing their amenities and stuff. after that they told us to go there and theyre gonna give us gas voucher, grocery gift certs and free use of their amenities. we thought its a good deal and since were gonna be celebrating our monthsary, we planned to go there. we thought that were gonna enjoy the day coz there would be a tour around the ranch but NO.. they are trying to hook us up with their procject called gallileo landbanking which they are selling a part of land for 20k. they were very convincing and i thought that it was a good idea to invest while were still young. we decided to be a part of it, i signed the contract and paid the downpayment. after that they already did the payment process when i thought of asking a question about cancellation if ever we changed our mind. they told us that there is no cancellation and its gonna be a lifetime payment. we were surprised and we told them that we not really sure about this. they tried to convince us and showed us some other offers but in the end, they cancelled it coz we dont want it anymore. i think we made the right decision not to get it.
Silver Saddle Ranch & Club Reviews
Me and my family members were RIPPED-OFF and gave in to SLIVER SADDLE's sales and marketing strategy. We bought 2 units from the so-called GALILEO PROJECT, which is approximately .025 acre/unit for a price of 20K, with 15.9% interest, 20% down payment. The Seller, Lender and Escrow are Silver Saddle Ranch and Club. All rolled into one.
But first, let me tell you how we got there. So we got a phone call telling us that we won a consolation prize which includes a buffet dinner, his/her watch, and a "family weekend getaway + free gas and grocery voucher + free use of amenities to a ranch." Very enticing isn't it? So we all went there. Next day was a TOUR AND PRESENTATION DAY. Very promising, made us all believe that it's a good investment. We were trying to google what they were selling, unfortunately there's NO WIFI. So for them to be able to persuade us to buy was they keep on giving us discounts. The original price of that piece of land was $31,000.00. And went down to $25,000.00. Then to $20,000.00, $19,990.00 to be exact. So we felt pressured. An 11K discount for a piece of land sounds like a good deal isn't it? And so we closed the deal that same day. And on signing of contract, they didn't even let us read it thoroughly, but rushed us by just telling us few bits and pieces on what's written on the contract.
And now, we realized that that's a big mistake. And we're in the process of terminating the contract.
I'm inviting ALL VICTIMS OF SILVER SADDLE RANCH to speak up, and get in touch with me. I'll be inviting my reporter friend to cover and conduct interview to let this SCAM go public. Please PM me.
Silver saddle ranch
Did you get residential land as well.im currently paying 25k for Galileo project 1/4000 member.and my own residential land + cruiseship vacations
you need to be educated
people like you who think its a scam are nothing but ordinary middle class income narrowed minded people. thats why the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer because of non sense comments you spread around the community.
We got scamed too
We have the same lured situation as they did to everyone too. Now We need help to terminate the payment and get off of it.. If we do. They threatened us to report to credit bureau. Pls help..
[email protected]
The Scam at Silver Saddle Ranch and Club is a scam
Silver Saddle Ranch and Club is a scam and we are looking for an Attorney to take our case to court. they made a lot of promises and kept none. We pay dues for a membership we can't even use, they took almost two thousand more out of one of our Bank account than we owed on our contract and they say we still owe them another $2000. Again they took money out of our Bank trying to charge us $55 for a towel that they say was taken from our room (right) I am fed up with there scam. Silver Saddle Ranch and Club are trying to extorted us for more money now. We bought the into the proposal for $27990 we paid $6793 Deposit.then the remainder of $22.392 and they added another $2000 to the payment after we signed the documents without our authorization. and now they want us to pay another $2000 and the contract said a total amount for the Investment was $27990 dalliers nothing more nothing less. We are not going to let them get away with this.
Scammed too
How can I co tact your lawyer to terminate the contract ? I am
In the same situation as you are .
Landbanking Scams on facebook
I was there. Saw the song books in Chinese and Spanish which indicates they target the immigrant community. They tried to rob me for 32k but I told the salesman to go pound sand. Been robbed by Dockers like him before.
I'm a victim too.
I just had the same experience yesterday and in the process to rescind the contract. How can I contact you?
victim of silver saddle ranch scam
I was also scammed. How can we contact each other?
Scam?
My family went there and same situation they were offered this lot and share and automatic deduction everymonth. When my mom got home i told them i feel like that is a scam but too late she already signed and credit card has been charge for $2800
Who to call to file a case against this BS scammers?
call me please
hi...my family and I recently bought a unit as well in October 2015. I will love to learn more of what youre doing in terms of figuring if this is truly a scam or not. Please call me if you ever see this at (323) 495 3275. If I dont answer please leave me a voicemail. Please help my family of burying ourselves further in something worth potentially nothing. I want to know what you have found out please! Thanks
scam
how did you get out of the contract or how did you terminate it
Silver saddle ranch
We are currently paying for Gallileo project, how did we get out of contract.
How can we terminate it.
Silver Saddle Ranch
I just saw this post. This is 2015 I was wondering if this case is stil on going because I have the same issue. I bought mine in 2016 and I’m still paying it. I had contacted one of the Galileo representatives, I wanted to cancel my contract because I can’t afford to pay the monthly payment anymore. The option they gave me was either pay it in full or stop paying it. I don’t know what to do.
Scammed
I would like information on how to cancel the contract and get a refund for the land that I purchase.
The Scam at Silver Saddle Ranch and Club
Silver Saddle Ranch and Club is a scam and we are looking for an Attorney to take our case to court. they made a lot of promises and kept none. We pay dues for a membership we can use use, they took almost two thousand more out of one of our Bank account more than we owed and they say we still owe more money. they wanted to charge us $55 for a towel that they say was taken from our room (right) I am fed up with there scam. Silver Saddle Ranch and Club are trying to extorted us for more money. we paid 2k Deposit then the remainder of 27k and 2k they added to the payment after we signed the documents now they want us to pay another 2k and the contract said a total of 27k was due and they did this to several of our friends, We are not going to let them get away with this.
I'm a victim too
I just had the same experience yesterday and in the process to rescind the contract. How can I contact you?
They said im a winner
Hi. Me and my family recived the paper as well saying we are winners. Is there anyway we can stay for free or do we have to agree about buying there shitty land?
Scam go public
We are in the same situation and wish to join any one others that have become a victim of silver saddle ranch Grand scam.
Please share. so far the comments are leading no where there is no contact info or ways for any one to connect please feel free to contact me directly at [email protected] perhaps we could join resources and hire an expert attorney to help recover our investment. I my self self also have a good friend at Univision anchor man but before approaching him we nees to built a strong case. Please include your email.
I AM A VICTIM TOO
My wife and I fell victim to this scam in May 2015. I talked to a law firm in CA today, and was advised to rally together a group of victims to take on Silver Saddle. The firm did not take on my case because the cost of litigation would far exceed the amount that my wife and I paid for the land. The lawyer does fee that we were scammed, and may be interested in taking on the case if a group of us rallied and pooled our resources together.
Your contact?
What is your contact? My Family and I are victims too.
Silver Saddle Ranch
I also want out of contract. What can I do and do you have any lawyer or agency to assist us to talk to silver saddle . I don't care if there's no refund but just need to be out
Of the contract and never be charged every quarter with additional fee
VICTIMS OF SILVER SADDLE RANCH
Hi my name is Rowena & Joven, we are also a victim of this scam. Please contact us.
yup
they been doing this since the 80's, and yet no one can stop them.
Silver saddle
How did you know that it is a scam i also bought 1 and i dont know how to contact you
Silver saddle
Hi there, we're in the same situation like you and this happened to us recently. We did also close a deal with SSR last October 22, 2016. We also want to be out of the contract.. How did you terminate your contract with them..?
Victims of Galileo Project: please contact me!
Victims of the "Galileo Project" scam:
I'm an amateur journalist currently doing an investigative piece involving Silver Saddle Ranch, and what I believe to be unethical if not illegal business practices regarding land banking in the California City area. If any of you have time to spare, I would love to ask some questions about the specifics of your experience with Silver Saddle Ranch. I would especially love to hear from anyone who has contact with other victims, anyone who believes they may have been specifically targeted as a Filipino, or anyone who has spoken to a lawyer about the contract you signed for this "Galileo Project." Your identity would be protected if you so choose.
Email me at [email protected]
Call State of Calif Dept of Business Oversight
Call California Department of Business Oversight about this scam at Silver Saddle. I believe Kenny Nguyen is the Attorney and his number at the Capital is (916) 322-8782. He is trying to get a hold of more victims.
It's Legit.
For those who bought land in silver saddle ranch pls do not easily believe on people's comment but rather search on your own. You can't avoid people saying it is a scam because of these reasons: First, they don't understand that's why they have doubts. Second, they heard bad comments from others. And I don't think it's a valid reason. You have to understand that Silver Saddle is like any other businesses out there that they will use some form of marketing. And yes their form of marketing is for the members to invite people and the other form is making you win so you can avail the free activities and all other free. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's good because it is free for individual and family to enjoy. I disagree with those people that says they are forcing you to buy or sign because for me as long they are not pointing a gun in you then they are not forcing you but rather they are just convincing you which is normal for doing a business. I experience that with my 3 friends that goes there, they did not buy and has not been forced. If anybody can prove to me that they are not registered in a county and not active to do business transaction then I will believe you. Because I already search for it and they are legit to transact business so in short it is not a scam. If you think the price is overprice then you have to understand that it is expected because it is not intended for housing but rather a commercial one. What you are buying is land banking and land banking has been there long time already and those people who believe in it are now millionaires. This type of business is only for those who believe in risk and who are positive thinkers. Hope this can help to clarify things and for those who still doubts then it's your choice. As for me I am confident that this will be a good fortune someday.
Victim as well
Hi same thing happened to us. Same scenario they said we won the consolation price and got invited to their ranch overnight for free. Would you be able to tell us if you were able to resolve this and how. We gave our downpayment through the credit card. Thank you
Scam
Is there a way where can contact you about this situation. We are victims as well. Were you able to terminate the contract? Please respond as soon as you can, thank you.
Please HELP!!!
We want to know what you did to cancel that contract. I dont care if we dont get a refund. As long as we can get out of that contract. They are a SCAM!!!! Please help!!!
Contact Me
Please help us. Let us know how you got out of the contract.
Cancelling the contract
Hi, I would like to cancel my contract with them. Please help me to cancel it. Thanks
We purchase a portion of land from Silver Saddle Ranch & Club in 20751 Aristotle Drive P.O. Box 2518 California City, CA 93504 last August 2, 2015. It all started when someone called us that we won a free dinner for 2 from Seafood City, which turned out to be from Silver Saddle Ranch & Club, but when we reached the place, they showed us a presentation about their Resort. They said that the free dinner for 2 comes with a free weekend vacation to their Resort, but then we we reached the place, they did not give us that free vacation, instead they sell us a portion of land which we did not see.
Then they forced us to agree and sign in reliance upon their representations & promises. We were asked to sign documents or do something we did not understand or feel was appropriate. They mislead and defraud us.
They immediately get from our credit card our full deposit. We did not appear personally before Nile Almudarris, a Notary Public in Kern County, CA on August 2, 2015 we did not meet or see this person. Their agent Marian Ducreux, the real estate broker let us faced her 2 sons only.
Afterwards, we search and found out from the State of California, Bureau of Real Estate, Real Estate Business, Boards & Bureaus Department of Consumers Affairs, & Better Business Bureau that the land sale scheme of Silver Saddle Ranch & Club has no matching public record was found for Licensee, has no Licensee issued, and is not BBB Accredited. They are not even a Real Estate Business, they are Health and Wellness Business, and it's been going on since July 25, 1985.
We called her to cancel our deed sale before we received the escrow, but she told us our escrow already closed, then she emailed us that she will forward our request to their corporate office. Her replies were confusing.
In just a matter of 4 days, they closed the escrow, we think that they intentionally closed the escrow quickly. We send them a letter, but no one has called back. This Club is a Deceiver.
What is your contact?
What is your contact? We are terminating our contract too and we have options to do it.
Almost got us
They offered us the same dinner and "invited" us to the resort.
Thank God I am reading this.
We will not go. And get scammed
Thanks
please help
HOW THAT WORK?!!!!! THE FREAKING CONTRACT IS NOT ABLE TO CANCEL WITH SIGN!!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!! PLEASE!!!!
Scam
We also fell into this. I hated paying for it. Whatever you may call it, scam or whatever, still we were not held in gunpoint to sign the contract or give the deposit. We all did it voluntarily, with sheer ignorance. I never wanted to go thru it, I blame my husband for being so excited with the shiny object promises from SSR. I cant stop him, he was so convinced like he won the jackpot. After 2 years of paying the monthly dues, we just stopped paying them. Just not worth it.
Absolutely a Scam!
Despite the above review saying,'It's Legit',NOT true. I was a victim of this in the 1980s. Thankfully, I realized what happened to me after I returned home,took a loss on the deposit which was around $2,000 and within a short time (I believe a week or so)was able to sign it back to them. At the time, they had lots of suckers, so they didn't mind getting it back for free.
scam
did you ever get out of the contract
Help!!!!
Please help us on how to cancel that contract. We were so stupid to buy from them. We just want to opt out. Its somewhat ok to lose the downpayment than to lose 20k more. I am more concerned now that it may have an effect on our credit.
Silver Saddle is a Huge Scam !
My family has been scammed too. We paid more than $12,000 for the land (gladly we only purchased half of it. ) plus all hidden charges. We appraised the land that we bought through APN no. through the Kern County California Assessor Recorder Online and found out that the TRUE VALUE of the piece of land that we bought is less than $140. Our hard work and effort got wasted! We are not rich. So every penny counts. We need to fight this SCAM!
DON'T LET ALL YOUR HARD WORK GO TO WASTE! Let's rescue each other and all others who got scammed!
You can also contact me at [email protected]
I made this email for all of us who've been scammed. We are working to have our contract terminated but we need more members with the same situation to make a strong case. Contact me so we can all STOP THIS SCAM.
Mar20 2016
Hi. We were very interested with the concept of land banking presented by saddle ranch. We even get to buy too. But when we were to settle everything in cash, we were told that we cannot cancel membership of 40$ a month, and will be obligated to pay for the rest our lives being a unit owner. I dont need that and i didnt even like the ranch. Now we are about to cancel it. We may lose some money but it is better than losing 20k$. Im looking for a lawyer before the escrow closes in 30days.
Don't buy and definitely don't give out credit card information
A good friend of mine invited me to silver saddle ranch for a weekend of fun. It turns out that it was a sales pitch. He never said that I was going to be pressured to buy a piece of investment into the so called and over priced Galileo Project. What a rip off. They instruct their members not to give out information about the project before bringing you there, only to said how great it is. Their marketing scheme and scam is so well organized that I almost invested in it. They do everything so fast, they talk about all the good projects in Kern county (not even close to the overpriced .025 acres piece of land they are trying to sale you for 25K), they don't allow for questions, they make you feel that all these other presentations are waiting and there is no time for questions, they make you believe that all units will be purchased by the Chinese investors ( let the Chinese buy them all, (actually Chinese people are not stupid to buy here either)), they make you believe that if you bring in others as referals, you will get bonuses that will pay for your own investment (this actually looks to me very much like a pyramid scheme (and scam)). The most funny thing about the whole scheme is when they make a sale (rip off someone), they scream so loud to make you feel that you are going to miss out on the opportunity. And when your friend or someone that you know brings you to this presentation and seats next to you as they are trying to get you to sign, you feel (double) pressure to buy becuase you don't want to let your friend down.They never focus on the lifetime association fee that you are getting yourself into (probably for Marian and all her sons, daughters, and extended family members helping her run the scheme). Or I wouldn't be surprised if all these people leave the country to spend your hard earned money in the Philipines. I could keep on going with my opinions and observations, but the bottom line is DON'T BUY, and definitely don't give your credit card for a downpayment, you will be put through hell and back trying to get it credited if you choose not to invest after all.
How is the relationship that took you to Silver Saddle Ranch?
Just wondering if your friendship was affected because your friend took you without telling you that you would be pressure to buy something.
Get Help! Call these attorneys! Or call the California Consumer Protection Agency, Or the State Attorney General
I was pressured to buy into this scam but by a blessing from God my credit card transaction would not go through for the deposit and I told them that I would not sign my contract until I called my credit card company to find out why. This gave me the break that I needed to come up with an excuse/lie that someone had stolen my credit card info. and that I would fix that first before finalizing my contract. I left that place that same minute, the guy that had invited me there had a BBQ going and he could not understand why I didn't want to eat before leaving. Anyways, all these people at silver saddle ranch should be in jail. But since the authorities have not been contacted by anyone of us that have been pressured to buy by means that I am sure any jury would agree as being illegal:
-Deceptive marketing to get you to silver saddle ranch
-High pressure sales tactics (presentations)
-Not allowing for questions during their presentations
-Not allowing you to read the contract before you sign (by making you feel that you are preventing them from closing a sale with another victim, or waiting their time by asking for time to read the contract, or asking questions about the contract)
-Charging you that 15% interest rate for an overpriced (25k) for .25 acres of land
-Never telling you that there is a life time association fee that you can never cancel and that will continue to increase
-For providing a separate presentation in Spanish for those that don't speak English then providing the contract only in English when they know them well that you only speak Spanish or Tagalog
-Not disclosing that silver saddle ranch is the seller, the lender, and the scrow company all roll in one. Please know that they did not do this to help you, they did it so they can speed the closing process and not give you enough time to realize that you made a big mistake and cancelling your contract.
I can not comprehend how Mariann and her whole family members can do this to their fellow Filipino brothers and sisters. If you do the numbers, silver saddle ranch is making about or over $100 million dollars by selling 1,030 acres to 4,000 members at an average of $25,000 per each .25 acre unit. This means that as soon as you sign your contract, they are making $97,000 for each acre of land (now I comprehend why Mariann and her extended family do not care about ripping off their own fellow Filipino nationals).
You and probably 6 generations of your family will never see any return on this investment, In fact, once you add the association fee that will continue to increase probably every year or two, you have just made the worst investment for your family and future generations. You should go to jail for been so stupid. Anyways, there are so many illegal sale tactics being used at silver saddle galileo project that God will forgive for being a victim. What I can recommend is for you to call (800) 811-7670 to ask for help to cancel your contract, if enough victims call, maybe they can turn this into a class action lawsuit (of the century). These attorneys are experts at cancelling contracts signed under pressured, do not delivered the returns promised, which essentially means every single contract illegally signed by silver saddle ranch deceptive tactics. You can also report these people to the California Consumer Protection Agency, or the Attorney General. Good luck my friends and God bless you.
(If you notice that I did not even capitalized the silver saddle ranch name or the galileo project is because they don't even deserve that)
California Business Oversight v. Silver Saddle Ranch
Contact Robert Lux (619.525.3729) of the California Department of Business Oversight to stop this continuing scam. There is a lawsuit to stop them from keep selling desert land with false information and promises to new victims and possibly canceling the contract. He needs witnesses. May justice prevail.
Im a victim too from silver saddle ranch
we bought a land at silver saddle ranch on 2002 and now we call because we were thinking about selling land and we found this, my name is Carlos phone number is 661-310-8116 please help
Definitely a Scam!
Same story with me. Beware of Marian and his kids, I paid down payment by credit card. I filed a dispute the next day right away. Sent a letter of cancellation to Marian as well as a certified letter to the Vice President. Under California law you have the right to rescission meaning to cancel/terminate the contract without loosing the deposit money. I filed a dispute with the credit card companies. We will not pay them no matter what..... Please inform everyone of this scam going around in Island Pacific and Seafood Market. This companies need to be notified of this scheme.
What happened
Hello,
What happened when you did this?
help
how did you do that??
nothing
if you signed a contract, you cant back out of it... just man up dont try to back out of it cus you THINK its a scam
stop this SCAM BS
This is a Scam
The claim they have about 2000 members and they charge a maintenance fee of $164 every 3 months they collect a year 1,312,000.00 a yer. one year ago they claim they had a bout 2000 members that they we so close to get to their goal now one year an months later they keep saying that they where about to get to the 2000 members and that their we able to reach those 2000 members in one year if they have 2000 one year ago then one year later they have to have 4000 members and not 2000 Jose or Joe claims that the where able to get there in one year so the Matt does not add there. They are not giving a piece of land from the ranch because the will run out of it if they do that. This way they can keep selling the membership all day long even to 1,000,000.00 members so they project never ends they dont have a date when they project will start and they claim that lots of companies are waiting for them to move in and star building. When I ask them what are you selling me they said a member ship of the ranch where I'll be charge every time I go. they put pressure on member to invite people so they dont have to pay so if I dont the a friend or any invites they charge me. I have they several friends and thanks god they have not buy anything from them. They get your credit card and ID claiming that they need it in case that something happen but hotels in reality need only one credit card that is required only from the person that reserves the room and they are collecting credit cards from members and invites at the same time that way they can get your down payment from it. According to the the land worth 12,000,000.00 to them witch I I doubt it. The owner is collecting money from members and is going to get members to buy it from him? but some how He will remain the owner? this project according to my research is been going on from 1985 they said that when they get to the 2000 members they will buy the ranch from the owner the price it will be $500.000 so if the ranch cost $12,000.000 now the owner is Santa clause and is going to give away the ranch for that amount? of course not. Their only goal is to get that money out of the way and keep collecting more along with more members. just in 5 years with 2000 members they collect $6,560,000.00 on maintenance fees for the ranch plus the sale or the memberships ? I'll go low they sale it for about $24,000 with discounts but lets pretend that they make only $10,000 on each sale so $20,000.00 x 2000 members is $20,000,000.00 all this Galileo Project is design to help the ranch and not the members. Ranch need tons of repairs on the rooms on baths even in the front office trashcan is broken all the bikes are old and seats cover with tapes the carts used to clean the rooms are super old and handles are cover with black tapes wood Bridges are super old and lose tables are all over painted and cracked it is a end less list and I dont have time to name all of this maintenance problems.
Simple. What they sale?
1 member ship for a broken ranch that charge you every time you go.They used the money that the only destination and or purpose is to maintenance the ranch but they are using the money in something else.
2 Discount packages for vacations
3. If you pay cash a lot on a unknown area that is worth from $2,000 to $3,000 but they sale it to you at a higher price so you end up paying more in taxes every year that the real value of the property or land.
Do not for get a life time payment every e months for $164 plus the fee to join for $24,000.00 after Discounts but if you dont pay cash then will will get around 16% interest =) they make me sick.
at the end you will not have any more money to travel.
Soon I'll be posting links with photos that I have been taking in my lost visits from all this scammers that give you this call tour or presentation. The only reason I go back is to take this photos and get a case together where this sales people is going to regret get the savings of all this hard working families that trust in them and their commission earn in this scam is not going to be enough to pay for their own lawyer.
Any update?
Please email me at [email protected] if you have any update on your case.
Silver Saddle is experiencing a law suit
I trapped in this scam contract on 2017. I found a law suit form from Department of Business Oversight that telling THE INTERESTS IN THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND OF THE LankBanking Plus+/Galileo Project investment WERE NOT REGISTERED AS SECURITIES WITH THE Department of Business Oversight OR ANY FEDERAL SECURITIES REGULATORY BODIES. IN FACT, INVESTMENT DOCUMENTS PROVIDED TO INVESTORS STATED THAT :[N]EITHER THE SUBJECT PROPERTY NOT THIS DISCLOSURE STATEMENT HAVE BEEN REVIEWED OR APPROVED BY ANY NATIONAL, STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL BODY OR REGULATORY AGENCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I already stopped my payment and found a lawyer to suit them. However, what my lawyer told me is no victims have any bad credit report YET. Not sure later??? If you want to join the lawsuit, please send me an email with [email protected]!!!
Not a SCAM
I bought my land last 2008 and paid it off after 5 years. As well as I'm paying a property tax of the piece of land from Kern County. Even my friends found everything legitimate. NOTHING IS SCAM. We found it a good investment.
.
Help!
Hello. So same thing happened to my parents.closed the deal. Then i told my mom it is a scam!!!!!! Talked to this Marian! She even said i am disrespectful. If that is not a 7hrs drive from our place i will go to their office and idk what i can do bec i am really mad how they fool people! Anyways i need help how to cancel this. They said my parents cant cancel this anymore.
What is your contact?
What is your contact?
We have options how to get out on the contract.
What to do!!?!?
Were you able to cancel the contract? Please help!!! We want out too... This is a scam!! We were so stupid to fall into that. I hope this will shed light and hopefully get an answer from other victims like you.
It is legal. So is the lottery.
I went to their presentation in the early 1990's. The lots were around $12,000. All I saw was empty sand and a few props ( future utilities). There is nothing to draw people here such as a ski resort, beautiful lake, natural surroundings, government project, etc. I figured the desert wind would cover it in 25 years, however it is still going. It's value is still desert sand and people's hope for the American dream. I did not buy. I feel sorry for those who did and used their hard earned money for a very, very risky gamble that they did not understand and were incredibly pressured into.
My wife and I were scammed Silver Saddle in May 2015. We bought 1/2 of 1/4000 of interest in the land they were selling in Kern County. Looking up the values of the 8 APNs associated with Silver Saddle and doing some math, my interest is only worth $132 and I paid over $12,000.
I spoke with a CA law firm, and was told I was definitely scammed. However, they did not take up the case with me as an individual because the cost of litigation would far exceed the amount of money I'd recoup. They did, however, offer to look into the case if I rallied enough people who were willing to stand against Silver Saddle.
Im a victim from silver saddle ranch too
I just found out about this please if you need another person to join the group please send a E-mail to carloshmartinez@rocketmail,com
no title
hi, did you able to get out of this mess? please advise.
Galileo Project
Can any one tell me what makes this a bad invested not on a property but on a club memeship that will roll over to owership of the ranch the property was a not counted as part of investment .
We are concern but not worry we will reach this worrisome point in about 3 years thats when sometning should be happening
1. The ranch will be aquire by members
2. Membership will roll over to ownership
3. Than it will be time to sell.
4. Royalties after 5 years
HELP!!!!!!!
We are on the same situation likeothers here. We need help to opt out of contract. I know how stupid we were when we signed the contract but just like the rest of you, we want out. Please help us find ways.
Silver Saddle Ranch victim
We also received a phone call telling us that we won a consolation prize which includes a buffet dinner, his/her watch, and a "family weekend getaway + free gas and grocery voucher + free use of amenities to a ranch."
During Marian Ducreux’s presentation to some group of people, she said that a unit of the Galileo Project costs $31,000.00 but if we buy with a 20% down payment on that day it will cost only $22,000.00
Marlin Tajo claimed to be our sales agent for that day, but since she has another table to attend to, she asked a lady named Cathy to gather our concerns or questions about the business. We said we don’t intend to buy a unit of the Galileo Project so she asked us to wait and came back with Marian Ducreux with her in our table.
Marian Ducreux, a broker, DRE Lic #01171503 offered us a lower price from $22,000 down to $19,900.00 with an additional free residential lot of Tract 3282 if we pay the full amount in cash. We said that we don’t have that much money to pay in cash. She then asked us if we have some sort of stocks like 401k. We said yes and she advised us to make a loan from our stocks since the interest of our loan will go back to our account anyway. She said that getting a free residential lot is like winning a lottery so she considered us very lucky. She showed us the lot which is not very far from Silver Saddle Ranch. Right that moment, Marlin Tajo took over the transaction. Marlin asked us how is our credit score and when we said that our score is high, she offered us an additional free cruise for 4 days for me and my husband on top of the free lot. With these offers we were a bit convinced but not fully convinced. Marlin reminded us how great the investment is and our additional benefits if we purchase a unit and become a part of the Galileo project like the Elite Advantage program, in addition to the discounted travel fares and hotels worldwide and free use of the Silver Saddle Ranch & Club. She also added a free his &her watches.
On top of the purchase, there is an association fee of $40.00/month.
So we end up signing the contract with Marlin Tajo at around 3 pm, feeling hungry and tired already.
On our way back home, we suddenly realized that the transaction was a scam. We did not even witness our documents being notarized in front of us, they just had us sign and did our thumb marks. I am not even sure if the man who took our thumb marks is a licensed notary public. The location of the claimed Galileo project is way far out in the desert, so many miles away from asphalted streets. I sent a text message and an email to Marian and Marlin to cancel the transaction right that moment, about two hours after we signed the contract but Marlin texted me back saying that we do not have the right to rescind or cancel the contract since it was already executed. As of now, I am in the process of doing something to get our down payment and terminating the contract.
Got Scammed and Very Regretful
I am one of the suckers who signed the contract with empty promises and still paying for lifetime association fees monthly. By reading all the victims comments, I am going through the same situations. I wish we can come together and stop these scammers. There's no future for these investments...maybe in hundreds of years. Please help! I am about to cancel my contract and give up this golden opportunity for a handful of sand.
SCAM
I am also a victim. I bought mine in 2012. With a free empty land coz I pay cash. And Im suffering now coz Im paying property tax twice a year also paying that membership fee. I want to sell the land or give it back to kern county free. Been wasting lots of money paying property tax & maintenance fee. Please help
Scam?
lies about it being a scam... this is so fake
if you bought something and you later on decide you dont want it anymore, how is that a scam?
how is it a scam if you got into something that you knew that was way over
your head? and now you want to back out?
thats why Filipinos will always be “middle class” workers, this crab mentality will get
you!
Scam this, Scam that... its a business, you think your iPhone really cost $1000?!? lol thats a $5 dollar phone thats made in China. Yet you will fall in line to be the first one to get it, but when it comes down to INVESTING in your future you are quick to call the project a SCAM??? Get A Life!!!
how do you think Advertising and Marketing works?
Some people just got way in over their head and are now just trying to find a way to get out of a legitimate business transaction.... hahaha you people are losers!
My parents bought land in 2001 and I was only 9 years old. Now I'm building my business and searching for real estate opportunities only to find out that the vacant commercial land that my parents own is only dropping in value, yet, they're still paying property taxes on it. I spoke with a real estate agent who says that he an put it in the market for $5k at the most which means that we've lost over $30k already - taking an inflation rate of 2.07% in consideration.
With the language barrier of speaking broken english, they were taken advantage of being sold land that had no real value. The commercial land is in the middle of nowhere, with no roads, no pavement, no civilization. The nearest home is 3.8 miles away, even then, California City is a desert that lacks life, let alone commercial real estate developement. There is no water, no electricity, nothing.
After looking at the numbers and realizing who had truly happened, it is extremely disheartening. A lesson to myself and everyone out there who likes to spend money, be careful on what you invest in and do your research.
I am also in the process of looking at filing a lawsuit if possible. Don't hesitate to reach out if you think you can help. Thanks in advanced.
Scammers
This business should be stopped. They are victimizing people for their own gain.
I'm a victim of this scam. I need help to get my money back. They took away more than $27k in my credit cards plus monthly hidden fees worth up to $200/month. I've been exchanging emails with them since 2 month ago but seems like they're ignoring me. Please find me a lawyer to talk to them.
somebody has to be blame.THE business establishment who puts all these lotteries ...
BLAME it on where it started....SOMEBODY has to be blame ...MISLEADING people to a very bad investment.SUE SEAFOOD CITY and ISLAND PACIFIC for being part of this.....
We got a phone call telling us that we won a consolation prize which includes a buffet dinner, his/her watch, and a "family weekend getaway + free gas and grocery voucher + free use of amenities to a ranch." Very enticing isn't it? So we all went there. Next day May 21/2004 was a TOUR AND PRESENTATION DAY. Very promising, made us all believe that it's a good investment. So for them to be able to persuade us to buy was they keep on giving us discounts from the original price for one day only. So we felt pressured. And so we closed the deal that same day. And on signing of contract, they didn't even let us read it thoroughly, but rushed us by just telling us few bits and pieces on what's written on the contract with total of US$33,990 for the land that can build two houses in near future. We keep to pay property tax for more than 13 years. Now we found out the area located my land still the raw lands not developing. And the value only US$5000. It is a scam! Why our law permit the kind of business still exist. Anybody can help to bring them to justice.
How to get your money back.
I'm also a victim. I suggest you to call your bank and report a fraud they will help you get all your money back.
Not a SCAM
I bought my land last 2008 and paid it off after 5 years. As well as I'm paying a property tax of the piece of land from Kern County. Even my friends found everything legitimate. NOTHING IS SCAM. We found it a good investment.
.
Rally Together At Silver Saddle
My wife and I fell victim to this scam in May 2015. We purchased 1/2 of 1/4000 of interest in the land defined by the Silver Saddle APNs. If you look up the land value on the Kern County Appraiser and do the math, I paid thousands of dollars for a piece of land that is worth only $132. Also, the notary Niles Almadurris did not personally appear before me. It was Marian Ducreux who did not even include her full name on the contract- just her first. I spoke with a CA law firm that said that we were definitely scammed. However, they were unwilling to take on the case with me as an individual because the cost of litigation would far exceed the amount I paid for the land. The firm, however, did say that it may take up the case if a group of us who were scammed were to pool together in a lawsuit against Silver Saddle.
I am definitely looking to take action against Silver Saddle with others who are willing to fight. Please, reply if you are willing to take action against Silver Saddle.
please help!
How is it now? Have you get rid of this contract?! PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!!!
About to...
Good thing i read all you comments, we're about to go there this weekend bec it has free accommodations but reading all those comments nah id rather stay at home
I was very happy to read posts about this complicated land scam that Silver Saddle Ranch is conducting. My friend also fell victim to the scam and was fraudulently induced to sign a contract that was written in English, when her first language is Spanish.
This land will doubtfully be developed and she will never see a dime from this scam of an investment in her lifetime. It's a shame there are people out there taking the money of hard working people who may not be business savvy but have dreams of owning land.
Please do research before makign any land investment. If it sounds too good to be true - IT'S NOT TRUE.
There are several experts trying to get her out of this contact that charges 16% interest (costing $40,000 in total) on a piece of land that is worth probably nothing or a fraction of what they are selling it for.
Would LOVE any information or advice from anyone who was able to get out of their contract. [email protected]
GREAT NEW FOR THIS CASE~~~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!
The asset of Silver Saddle had been frozen by department of business oversight: https://dbo.ca.gov/enf-s/silver-saddle-ranch-club-inc/ We don't take no long response for the payment. Any victims who got negative credit report from Equiant Financial Service(Probably the collection company), please contact EXPERIAN(the credit report company) to file a dispute with the judgement document that you can get from the above website. I'm trying to do this also~
Any update
Any update?
Please email me at [email protected] if you have any update on your case.Because I also need to get out of this!
Scam a misused word
Owners received grant deeds to the properties from the county. Owners become members of an existing resort . They could use most of the amenities for free. Everyone is treated fairly. Owners can visit anytime! What is the scam here?
Scammers
My family went there and same situation they were offered this lot and share and automatic deduction everymonth. When my mom got home i told them i feel like that is a scam but too late she already signed and credit card has been charge for $2800
Who to call to file a case against this BS scammers?
dont beLIEve them!
Me and my boyfriend were almost been victimized by this silver saddle ranch landbanking thing. we drove 6 hours from sacramento all the way to california city to have our free weekend get away with full hotel accomodations from them. i received a call from them that i won the raffle, a free dinner for two and a his and hers watch set. i brought by boyfriend with me and they showed us a presentation showing their amenities and stuff. after that they told us to go there and theyre gonna give us gas voucher, grocery gift certs and free use of their amenities. we thought its a good deal and since were gonna be celebrating our monthsary, we planned to go there. we thought that were gonna enjoy the day coz there would be a tour around the ranch but NO.. they are trying to hook us up with their procject called gallileo landbanking which they are selling a part of land for 20k. they were very convincing and i thought that it was a good idea to invest while were still young. we decided to be a part of it, i signed the contract and paid the downpayment. after that they already did the payment process when i thought of asking a question about cancellation if ever we changed our mind. they told us that there is no cancellation and its gonna be a lifetime payment. we were surprised and we told them that we not really sure about this. they tried to convince us and showed us some other offers but in the end, they cancelled it coz we dont want it anymore. i think we made the right decision not to get it.