Mortgage files with personal information found abandoned at Frontier Homes site

More than 16 files containing the financial records of those who purchased from Frontier Homes in Maricopa Meadows were found abandoned in a parking lot Thursday at the corner of Keller Drive and Miller Way.

Frontier Homes’ office in the Celebration neighborhood of the Maricopa Meadows subdivision appears to have closed its doors for good, and in the process, left several of its customers at risk of identity theft.

A few desks and a file cabinet have been left abandoned in the paved handi-capped parking area at the trailer parked in the 17900 block of North Miller Road, along with several hydrogen gas tanks – some of which appear to be at least partially full. The office phone, a few awnings, doors and more lay in the dirt Thursday afternoon waiting to be discovered.

What’s more, one of the desks contained the personal information of 16 home buyers, complete with photo copies of driver’s licenses, Social Security cards, canceled checks, creditors and more.

Still more files appeared to be floating around amongst a sea of office supplies in the trash bin on the other side of the portable building.

Frontier Homes has not yet returned several phone messages, including one each left with the main receptionist and the corporate attorney at its main office in California.

Raymond Shaban, a homeowner who stopped by to check on the status of warranty work orders he said he has been requesting from Frontier Homes for the past year, said he was somewhat surprised when he came upon the folders – including his own purchase application.

“They skipped town, I guess,” he said, adding that he’d heard rumors they were planning to close in July.

So, instead of finding out when the drainage problem in his back yard will be corrected or when the floor boards in one of the bathrooms will be repaired, he picked up the files for safe keeping.

Shaban returned to the site after alerting the media, at which time he placed the files back where he found them before taking a walk around the back to take a look.

Then, instead of retrieving the files again or leaving them there, he called Maricopa Police.

“There’s more in the dumpster, too” he said to one of the officers, adding that he hadn’t fully climbed in to investigate.

“I’m not going after them,” the officer said.

The police did, however, take possession of the folders found in the desk and took a statement from Shaban before leaving.

Sgt. Stephen Judd, a spokesman for Maricopa Police, said the folders will be returned to the people whose names and information appear inside.

More details to come.

Photo by RuthAnn Hogue