Marlene accused him of planning to take their homes from the very beginning, a claim Judge Hargrove dismissed outright, reminding the courtroom that Vaughn had written no fake invoices, moved no stolen funds, and torn open no roof, and that every defendant had created the exact conditions leading to this judgment on their own.
The court gave thirty days for voluntary payment, and none of the defendants could raise the money:
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Marlene tried borrowing against her estate, but the court's lien sat ahead of any new loan.
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Judith found a secret buyer, but the county recorder blocked the transfer outright.
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Pamela attempted to liquidate furniture, vehicles, and investment accounts, yet still fell far short.
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Denise and Rochelle asked to keep their homes given their cooperation, and the judge reduced a portion of their punitive damages, though the obligation to repay stolen funds remained fully intact.
A date was set for the public auction of all five homes on a single morning, and the very first name registered to bid was Vaughn Prescott.
The auction took place at the county courthouse on a cold, overcast morning, with Marlene and the former board members seated together in the front row, dressed as though they were attending a funeral rather than watching their own homes sold out from under them, hoping outside investors would drive prices high enough to shrink their remaining debt. But every property carried the court's lien, mounting legal costs, exposure tied to an active criminal investigation, an obligation to repay the association, and temporary restrictions on transfer. Most outside investors stayed away entirely.
Vaughn had no need to bring cash, since his credit bid drew directly from the judgment owed to him:
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Rochelle's home sold first after only two rounds of bidding, and she quietly handed over her keys. Because she had cooperated fully, Vaughn gave her sixty days to move and made no public spectacle of her loss.
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Denise's home came next. Though one outside investor pushed the bidding briefly, Vaughn raised it using the unpaid portion of the judgment and won again, with Denise admitting afterward she had known the fund transfers were wrong but had been too afraid of Marlene to ever object—fear, Vaughn pointed out, did nothing to undo the damage suffered by everyone else.
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Pamela argued that her home represented her life's work, but Tessa reminded the room that more than $286,000 in association money had gone directly toward paying down that very mortgage. Vaughn won the bid, immediately ordering a full inventory of any remaining assets tied to the fraudulent contracts.
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Judith had believed her shell company would shield her property indefinitely, but the court had already established the company existed purely as a tool for fraud, and Vaughn secured that home as well using the association's assigned enforcement rights, with investigators later finding sale signage in her garage already prepared for reselling Vaughn's own land to outside developers.
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The final property was Marlene's estate, the largest of all, valued near $2.4 million. She had arranged for an outside buyer to bid on her behalf, but Nolan discovered the buyer's financing traced back to an account Marlene secretly controlled, and the judge disqualified the bidder entirely for collusion. Vaughn placed the final credit bid, no one topped it, and the auctioneer's gavel came down with the words: "Sold to Vaughn Prescott."