Sam Leccima and His "Flip This House" Scandal

Whether you're a fan of reality TV or not, there's no doubt you've seen one of the thousands of "reality" shows airing daily. So how "real" is this so-called "reality?" If you're Sam Leccima, one of the stars of A&E's Flip This House, you probably already know the answer to this question. For the rest of you, you might be surprised by the answer.

Flip This House is a show on A&E that gives a backstage look at real estate investors that purchase homes to flip, and their struggles to improve the house to its maximum potential for resale. It's a very popular show, and I'll admit, I'm a fan. Orlando was a major player for investors during the boom, and many of the investors were looking for a quick flip, so the show felt very close to home for me - until now!

About two weeks ago, Fox News' Senior I-Team reporter Dale Russell found one Atlanta developer on the show, Sam Leccima, wasn't telling the truth about his renovations. Lecimma is accused of faking the home renovations, and claiming to have sold houses he never owned.

"This is, indeed, a con artist," said Sonya McGee, an Atlanta pharmaceutical representative who says Leccima took $4,000 from her in an investment scheme.

Many are saying the flips shown on the show were just elaborate hoaxes. He's accused of using his friends and family as potential homebuyers and putting "sold" signs in front of unsold houses. Apparently, the home repairs, which are obviously the draw to the show, were nothing more than quick, temporary patch jobs used to make the house look good on camera.

Here's the I-Team report in all its glory. You be the judge: Was Leccima scamming us, or was it all just for entertainment.



Still not enough for you? Here are a few links for your reading pleasure. This is Reality Blogging (did I just coin that?) about Reality TV. Namaste!

MyFOX Atlanta - News Report
'Flip This House' star accused of fraud - Yahoo! Report
Flip This Lawsuit - Blog related to this issue
Sam Leccima of "Flip This House" Arrested for Fraud - Gambling911 Blog (Has a few false accusations)

Tags: Investing, flipping, Media, TV, scandal