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More Houston-area deed fraud victims are speaking out. The alleged perpetrator has already been charged with a first-degree felony of forgery, fraudulent document execution, and theft greater than $300,000, in connection with warranty deeds worth some $15 million. He would forge property owners’ signatures. Then he’d go buy their properties at a deep discount. Investigators …
Continue reading “Texas Warranty Deed Forgery Plot Thickens”
Some people will steal their own mothers’ homes. In a stunning case of deed fraud, a woman named Wanda donned a wig and pretended to be her own elderly mother, then tried to steal her home in Hillsborough County, Florida. A video recording shows Wanda using the Notarize computer-based notary service, signing a quitclaim deed. …
Continue reading “Quitclaim Forgery Is Snatching Florida Homes From Seniors and Dead People”
The Register of Deeds of Shelby County, Tennessee recently took to a live television newscast to warn the public about scammers scouring funeral listings and obituaries. They’re looking for dead people whose homes they can steal. They forge deeds. They record bogus title transfers. Once they have control over their ill-gotten homes, criminals sell them, …
Continue reading “Register of Deeds Blasts Crooks Who Steal Homes Out From Under Owners’ Funerals”
We all know about porch pirates… but look out for title pirates. They’ll take your whole porch. Title piracy is deed fraud. It happens when someone uses a deed to deliberately take over someone else’s real estate. It’s an unusual crime, but according to the National Association of REALTORS® (which cites FBI figures), it’s been …
Continue reading “Ahoy There, Matey! Look Out for the Title Pirates”
Two New Yorkers — and one is a former lawyer and a licensed notary — have pleaded guilty to deed fraud charges in New York. The charges involve first-degree scheming to defraud, and additional counts related to forging and filing false documents to take deceased people’s titles in Nassau and Queens. A company run by …
Continue reading “Guilty Pleas in Long Island: Heirs Recover Their Stolen Deeds”
Michael B., a real estate broker, has changed his mind. He’s now pleading guilty in a felony fraud case involving deed theft. In Florida, fraudulent real estate schemes are not unusual. But when a real estate broker in active status is pursued for deed fraud, that’s the kind of case that stands out. Yes, you read …
Continue reading “Deed-Stealing Florida Broker Pleads GUILTY”
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has caught up with Ohio’s “Cash Flow King” Matt Motil. The online influencer defrauded people out of millions of dollars in what amounts to a Ponzi scheme, officials allege. He used popular social media sites. He also touted the investment opportunities at issue on Biggerpockets.com. Motil advertised that …
Continue reading “Want to Invest in Real Estate? Look Out for Influencers and Ponzi Schemes”
Of all states, California has the biggest housing market. But population growth is shifting. Since the pandemic began, it’s Florida, of all the states, that got the fastest population increase. More than a thousand people relocate to Florida daily. Florida’s now in second place for total home property value — surging ahead of New York …
After Florida passed HB 1419 to deal with deed fraud in the state, Lee County Clerk Kevin Karnes announced a new requirement for filing a property deed. As of August 2023 and onward, you’ll need a government-produced photo ID if you expect to file a deed in Lee County. Why specifically there? Because Lee County, …
They call it the dirty deeds law. Recorders of Texas deeds may, as of July 2023, card people who show up to file home deed transfers. Meanwhile, in Arizona, a swindler sold an ill-gotten deed to the Zillow® real estate company. Texas is lowering the boom. The state will now have its deed recorders verify …
Continue reading “Swindlers Beware: Texas Makes Its Move to Head Off “Dirty Deeds””