Daughter says her mom was swindled out of her home in Salt Lake City

CANYON RIM — A quilt, a crystal, two pictures and some memories are all Josie Thamert has left of her mother.

She was in California in November when she heard the news that her mother, Jennifer Thamert, 51, had passed away in her assisted-housing apartment in Salt Lake City.

"It was the longest day of my life," said the 18-year-old.

When she went through the apartment, all that was left of her mother were a few pieces of furniture, clothes and the items she now holds dear — everything else had been sold nearly two years before when her mother was evicted from her condo after what she believes was an unscrupulous business deal. Josie Thamert holds one man responsible for the reason her mother was left destitute and homeless for nearly 18 months — Gilbert Salinas.

Thamert had been divorced for six years and living on her own in a condo in Millcreek when a severe schizophrenic breakdown left her hospitalized for a week in March 2007. She was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was unable to work, falling behind on monthly payments.

She arranged to sell the condo for $110,000 and signed a real estate purchase contract. But when she met Salinas at an LDS Church function, that all went out the window.

After they went out on a couple of dates, Salinas, who unbeknown to Jennifer Thamert worked for a mortgage homeowner solutions company, advised her to break the contract and borrow about $6,800 from him, according to a lawsuit filed by Josie Thamert.

She filed the lawsuit against Salinas and the company he works for — GT Homeowner Solutions Company LLC — and says Salinas persuaded her mother to sign over the warranty deed on her home to him and enter a lease agreement where his company would lease Jennifer Thamert's home back to her for 90 days.

The nature of the lease was that Jennifer Thamert would pay back $25,000 to GT Homeowner Solutions within 90 days, plus any money due from the mortgage, and she would own her home; if not, she could be evicted, the lawsuit states.

"Jennifer could have gone and rented an apartment and had nearly $50,000 in the bank," said Abraham Bates, Josie Thamert's lawyer. "Instead, (the defendant) sold her home and made a $70,000 profit."

And on Oct. 22 of that year, Jennifer Thamert was given a 10-day notice to pay about $26,450 or she would lose the lease, according to the lawsuit. She was evicted.