Property Wars star John Ray ordered to shut down Arizona real estate business – Phoenix Business Journal – Phoenix Business Journal

An Arizona regulator is ordering “Property Wars” reality TV star John Ray and his firm to immediately stop doing business because neither hold a real estate license, as required by law.
The Arizona Department of Real Estate issued a cease and desist order to Ray and his business, Arizona Investors Alliance LLC (dba Bid AZ Foreclosures), on December 6, noting Ray’s license has been terminated since July 2011 and the firm shows no record of a license. The ADRE also pointed out that Arizona Investors Alliance (AIA) works with Ray’s Zaxon Properties, which advertises itself as a real estate brokerage, but also does not have a license as of May when it became inactive.
The order comes more than a year after Ray filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy following a $1.2 million-court judgment.
Ray did not respond to several requests for comment this week.
A women answered the business phone line of AIA this week and said while the business no longer has a physical address, the company has “gone mobile.” She didn’t provide any further details.
ADRE officials told me Ray has not yet exercised his right to file a notice of appeal, but has until January 6 to do so. If he chooses not to and continues doing real estate business, the ADRE may refer the case to the state Attorney General.
According to state law (Arizona Revised Statute 32-2165), a person who acts as a real estate broker or salesperson without being licensed is guilty of a Class 6 felony, the least severe and punishable by a minimum six months in prison.
Ray has become a local celebrity from Property Wars, a reality TV show set in metro Phoenix that follows the cutthroat business of Ray and other property bidders as they go head to head at the auction block for foreclosures. The Discovery Channel did not respond for comment, but Twitter accounts of other cast members Lou Amoroso and Scott Menaged, for instance, indicate the show’s third season has been recently canceled.
The ADRE’s case started in July when Hung Nguyen filed a complaint, which is not available to the public because the investigation into Ray and his business is ongoing. The ADRE thus reviewed Ray’s website, www.bidazforeclosures.com which indicated several business practices that require a license.
I was also unable to locate Arizona real estate licenses for other Property Wars cast members, such as Menaged, Ed Rosenberg and Steve Simons.
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