The St. Petersburg Times found a homeless man who had bought a few houses. "After struggling much of his adult life with unemployment, homelessness and drug addiction, Johnny Moon Sr. died last year on a dirty mattress on the floor of a small home near Tampa's College Hill district. Moon left behind a watch, a flashlight and a wallet containing a solitary dollar bill. And more than a half-million dollars worth of real estate."

"The St. Petersburg Times (inquired) about how the elder Moon had qualified for the mortgage loans. A high school dropout with no job history who got by on food stamps, Moon morphed into a real estate investor. Within a year, he bought five properties and signed for mortgages in excess of $614,000."

"Those familiar with Moon's background have doubts about his abrupt transformation into real estate investor. Linda Johnson, Moon's sister, thinks he was an unlikely candidate for easy credit. 'He never had nothing much, no bank accounts or nothing like that,' she said."

"Records show Moon bought a 12th Street property from for $147,000, triple what the county property appraiser said it was worth, and paid for it with a $147,000 mortgage loan. The Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly called Fannie Mae, ended up with the home after Moon died and the loan went into foreclosure. For Fannie Mae, the loan has become a loser."

"The lender's representatives discovered the 86-year-old home with the tin roof has leaks, flooring problems, no sink in the bathroom and no kitchen. As is, it is uninhabitable. The home is listed at $88,500, but so far, no takers."

"In November 2002, Moon Sr. signed for an $85,000 loan to buy the home at 2204 E Chipco St. Six days later, Moon was arrested and charged with petty theft. A few months after being released and reporting meager income, Moon Sr. signed for four mortgage loans, totaling $529,300, to buy four more properties. The four purchases occurred in a two week period. Three homes eventually went into foreclosure."

"He somehow got himself to all four closings, records show, and presented a Florida driver's license as identification, though the state had revoked his license indefinitely during the 1990s when he was classified as a habitual traffic offender."