One happy couple is very grateful that their identities are safe, thanks to The Courier.
After running a series of stories on the dozens of big, black trash bags – most filled with boxes of files including Social Security numbers, W-2 forms, 401K documents, employment history, full credit histories, even addresses and cell phone numbers – behind the Better Homes Depot, at 106-10 Rockaway Boulevard in Ozone Park, Desreen Williams and Franklyn Campbell were reunited with their documents.
The couple said they purchased their first home from the company in 2007. They paid for the $580,000 Arverne dwelling with $10,000 down, they said, leaving them with a mortgage of well over $4,000 a month.
“[The market] crashed right after we purchased. We didn’t know any better,” they lamented.
So when they received a phone call telling them that their entire file was accessible to the public, they were shocked.
Looking through the folder, Desreen was blown away.
“This is everything,” she said. “You get a home to better yourself, and then this – they left our business out to the public.”
Franklyn added, “There are many people I know whose files are still there.”
But, after getting the Attorney General’s office involved – they sent an investigator to the scene and are currently investigating – the documents were picked up on Monday, August 2, according to neighbor Joanne Uhl, who originally discovered them.
“They came and got everything, I’m very thrilled,” she said.
However, it remains unclear as to who did the carting.
The trucking company denied involvement, and Eric Fessler, the owner of the property, when contacted by The Courier, said that he did not order the clean up, and, in fact, said, “I don’t know what documents you’re referring to.”
