It's a housing scam so big investigators admit the cases they know about may be just the tip of the iceberg. A Las Vegas man is behind bars accused of preying on those who were about to lose their homes. He said he could save them from foreclosure.

But as News 3 Investigator Mitch Truswell found out, the state says he simply cost people money and in some cases much more.

Matt Marlon has gone by plenty of names: Andrew Johnson and John Alson, among others. If you recognize him, the Secretary of State's Office wants to hear from you.

The name may have changed but, unfortunately, the story was always the same. Carolyn Ellsworth with the Secretary of State's Office is one of many helping to unravel the maze of deception.

At least sixty valley homeowners thought Marlon could help them. He offered to save them from foreclosure. "He would locate victims by doing a search of the public records on the Recorder's Office (website) for notice of default that are recorded then contact the victims saying he was interested in purchasing your home," Ellsworth explains.  

"He'd come to the house with a notary in tow," Ellsworth continues. "He'd give them documents saying he'd take care of everything. Take care of the payment, take care of paying off the mortgage and I'll pay you some cash too. He'd have them sign a contract of sale."

Despite how official the forms signed by the homeowners might look, Marlon didn't really buy the house and he didn't pay off the mortgage. "After he would get the rightful owners out of the house under false pretenses, he would put renters in the houses in many cases. And those people... my investigators talked to one renter who felt  they were leasing to own," Ellsworth said.  

And he wasn't just hurting homeowners. He actually scammed the Recorder's Office. Anytime property is transferred from one buyer to another, there is a transfer tax of $2.50 per $500 of value. Investigators say Marlon never paid that tax. He used fake stock certificates to show the sales were exempt from the transfer tax.

Here's what else the investigators found out about Matt Marlon:

• He used at least four different aliases.
• He created at least 45 different corporations to allegedly buy homes.
• His office was nothing but a post office box on Spring Mountain Road.

While investigators wait to see how many others out there have been victimized by Marlon, here's some advice: If you're facing foreclosure talk to the bank which holds your loan.

Here's something else we found interesting about Matt Marlon. His brother is Dr. Anthony Marlon, the CEO of Sierra Health Services, Inc., Nevada's largest HMO. Sierra Health is hoping to merge with United Healthcare. Dr. Marlon had no comment.

If you recognize Matt Marlon as the person who tried to buy your house or you thought bought your house, call the Secretary of State's Securities Division at 486-2440.