Providing you have a good closing attorney the land ownership system in the USA is very robust and straight forward so providing you get insurable title and title transfers you can't be scammed out of a property easily

The FBI has a site for warnings on rental scams...many are targeted at landlords. 

They hate it when you do that....dropped 125 points in 30 days.....What a scam it is, but if you know how to play the game and don't care, you can do well....

I have strong screening skills and criteria, I know the current scams and problems, and more.I would shop around.

It hasn't been a scam to my knowledge.

Odds are you'll pay a bunch to a lawyer, get no where near enough in judgement/return (if you can even collect it), and only get personal gratification of "being right".My take on it is that like bullies - folks who lie, cheat and scam, will continue to do so until they're punitively punished.

Lots of schemes and scams and shell games were possible in the past, not so much any more.

Sounds like a scam with high fees.Have you approached local banks or credit unions to see what they can offer you?

If "upfront fees" are requested as a condition upon which they will fund your deal, it's a scam. 

After the purchase I read a lot of things about a scam which has made me a bit skeptical.