Absurd $50 Raffle for Long Island Mansion Ends Predictably

Things were looking grim for Long Island homeowner John Luongo last year. With a wife and child to support, he found himself $1.25 million behind on two mortgages he took out on his five bedroom, 4 bathroom home on a canal in Massapequa. Foreclosure loomed, but with his back against the wall Luongo came up with a plan: Start a $50 raffle for the property (which is appraised at $1.6 million dollars), use the money to pay off the mortgages, and walk away debt-free. He'd even throw in his 2007 Mercedes, valued at $95K! But would he find enough gullible rubes on the South Shore of Long Island for his scheme to work?

Vic Ortiz of Massapequa his family invested $500 in the raffles; he tells WCBS, "It's the American dream top have a home that big in a place like Long Island." According to Luongo's website, From Raffles to Riches, some 16,800 tickets were sold by December, but the website confusingly announces two different dates for the drawing: December 15th and March 20th. Luongo had promised contestants (who also received a "portrait" of the house with their ticket) that if he didn't sell enough tickets to pay off the mortgages, he would not hold the drawing and refund the money.

Both dates have come and gone, and ticket buyers like Ortiz say they've received no refunds. "Turns out PayPal won't honor anything that's in excess of 90 days," said Oritz, while a sad trombone played behind him. Luongo now says the raffle is called off and that he's refunded 10,000 tickets already. But WCBS has been unable to find anyone who got refunded, and it appears no lucky winner will be moving into the 4,100 square foot mansion any time soon.

We're sure Luongo is just as broken up about it as they losers are; after all, he just wanted to help people, telling the local news, "I thought this would be a way to not only get some financial freedom, but another way to give back to the community, to somebody else who normally couldn't afford the home." Below, a video feature on Luongo when he announced his altruistic raffle:

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By John Del Signore in News on April 21, 2010 12:08 PM

Comments [rss]

Petey

wire fraud. Enjoy federal prison.

jgonzz

The jacuzzi looked nice. The kitchen looked hilariously bad, like something seen in a high end mobile home. The only thing the TV crew didn't show was the stripper pole and this guys NY Jets bean bag chairs..

Tower18

Why the hell is the door off-center like that, with the tiny window in the center? It's like a child designed that house.

peoplewatching

That house looks like a post office.

Clarice City

+1

Stevennnn

Your typical greedy asshol*e. Not to hard to find them on Long Island.

ed_Extinct

There are three reasons this guy should be caged:

1. Scam Artist

2. Ugly House

3. Being a Douche

Clarice City

That house is fug. It's cartoonishly nouveau riche and there's no way in hell it's worth just under 2 mil.

Furthermore, this guy had it coming. One child and a wife and he buys a five bedroom? He sounds like he barely passed the eight grade. I seriously doubt he had the kind of employment that would ever support this lifestyle.

fishfryin

if that's a mansion my shitty apartment is a penthouse suite

fosiacat

umm.. mansion? 5 bedroom 4 bath? 4k sq ft?

i swear to god fucking gothemist just posts headlines like this to troll people.

Boogie Down

That house is hideous.

potsmoker

"Turns out PayPal won't honor anything that's in excess of 90 days

well sure its actually 60 days you have the option to refund, but ummmm, paypal wont stop you from sending money back yourself with a few clicks...

sounds like he also committed a crime,

like withdrawing the paypal funds but not holding a raffle, and using the funds to pay his mortgage.

house is prob foreclosed can anybody check the records on this, car was prob already repo'd or sold.

plus hes prob got some splain'in to do since raffles could only be conducted by charities, the whole free ticket with purchase of art? seems like a scam to get around the law...doubt the attorney general would agree with that.

and whats a portrait? a printout, a 4x5 photo signed??

hahhaa

i see JAIL in this guys future.

AspieSociologist

This guy also needs to realize that his home isn't worth "over 1.6 million dollars!!!" if no-one is willing to pay that much for it. See, value of a commodity is determined by the market, and he's effectively lowered the value of his house to $50.

I suggest he take some basic economics classes before going back out on the job market. It was perhaps his lack of economic sense that lead to this situation.