In Pittsburgh, a Title Agent Finds Dozens of Local Deed Thefts

Title agent Kelsey Green got a call from a client who hoped to refinance. But somehow, without the client’s knowing, the deed to the Pittsburgh home had been stealthily transferred.

Since then, the title agent has found 35 cases of deed theft. All have occurred in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhoods. Allegheny County records show deed transfers to four different LLCs. The handwriting matches on all of these deeds.

Green recorded herself for TikTok, warning locals that a major swindle is going on.

The Rightful Homeowners Had No Idea.

How did the thief get away with this? A lot has to do with selecting the targets:

• A number of the theft victims had left their homes unoccupied.

• Many of the deed theft targets are elderly people.

• Many of the homes were owned outright for many years. No mortgage left on the properties—no company taking note of title changes.

Green has informed the county district attorney’s office. The county tax department is now informing other residents that their deeds, too, have been taken. What a mess! Pennsylvania needs to protect deed holders and innocent buyers from the terrible mental and financial impacts of deed fraud.

It’s No Easy Feat to Get a Deed Back.

Recovering these deeds and restoring them to the households that lost them will be no easy feat. Generally, the process entails going to the local court to begin a quiet title action. Only then can a new deed be issued in the proper owner’s name.

The upshot? Its seems much easier to steal a deed than it is to return it to a household. 

Interestingly enough, the stolen homes of Pittsburgh have not been resold or borrowed against, the title agent told the press. That bodes well. Once a deed thief resells a home to an innocent third party, the victim’s path to recovery is vastly more complicated. Yes, catching a thief is one thing. It’s yet another thing to make the rightful owner whole again, once a deed has been recorded in someone else’s name.

Buying a home? Acquiring a deed? You may be able to protect yourself against deed fraud by purchasing a policy at closing. Learn more about enhanced title insurance.

Rest in Peace? Even Deceased Pennsylvanians Are Deed Scammers’ Targets.

Not long ago, Philadelphia faced a rash of deed crimes against dead people. Bad actors were taking deeds away from rightful heirs by pretending to be those heirs. Then they could sell the homes to developers. The city had to do something to stop these schemes.

The Philadelphia deed recorder now automatically searches the records when deeds are brought in for recording. The search could bring up records showing that someone who signed a deed was actually deceased on the signing date. Scouring the Social Security database and local records, the system works to match the party transferring the deed to names of people recorded as deceased. Deeds won’t be accepted if they’ve been transferred by someone who was not among the living.

Law enforcement has been working on tightening up recording rules since 2018, following the lead of the mayor and council. It’s been a time-consuming task, carried out by many participants. Within the collaboration are legal services providers, title companies, tax assessors and others—even federal administrators.

In Pittsburgh, Deeds Are Also Being Taken From the Dear Departed.  

Meet Richard, who’s among the 35 people robbed of their deeds in Pittsburgh—those in the cluster uncovered by title agent Kelsey Green.

Speaking to the TV show 11 Investigates last week, Richard said the theft he faced is actually “rampant” in Pittsburgh’s South Side.

Richard had hired an agent to potentially sell his home. But a look at the Allegheny County deed records went terribly wrong. Behind Richard’s back, his deed had been conveyed to an LLC.

Richard tells reporters that the thief might have no intention of taking further action with a stolen home—until the death of the rightful deed holder. “All they have to do,” Richard told the reporter, is “wait until the owner dies.”

Richard ultimately got his title back. He spent thousands in the process. And he experienced a level of stress that felt like it was, in fact, enough to send a homeowner to an early grave.

Kelsey Green says the deed snatcher had falsified her company’s notary on a transfer, and faked notary stamps throughout the series of bad conveyances. At least eight notaries have been impersonated. The faked notary seal looks real, although it’s not a perfect replica.

OK, So What Does State Deed Fraud Law Say?

As a general matter, state laws deal with the crimes of theft, fraud, and forgery. But usually their laws don’t specifically call out deed theft.

Pennsylvania is one state creating a law so that deed theft is named as a specific crime. The law will define “deed fraud” as “the intentional and fraudulent transfer of real property ownership through the use of forged, altered, or falsely executed documents, or by other deceptive means.”  

It passed in the House. Then, in September 2025, Pennsylvania’s Senate Judiciary Committee approved it unanimously. It has yet to be sent to the governor for signing, though. (Here’s a short video about how the law is being made.)

Pennsylvania’s House Bill 1406 would make stealing someone’s title into a crime of second-degree felony theft. The allowable punishment would be linked to the size of the victim’s loss. (An attempt at theft would be punished, even if unsuccessful.)

Assuming Pennsylvania enacts its pending bill, this law will ensure that police get legal tools to find deed thieves and bring them to justice. It would also give victims a direct pathway to court for the purpose of starting the deed recovery process.

All told, Pennsylvania’s deed fraud bill could be expected to deter thieves, and, critically, make recovering a stolen title less of a headache.   

The cases in Pittsburgh underscore the need for a law that makes solid progress in keeping vulnerable households—and all households—safe in their homes.

The Law Will Need to Keep Deeds Safe in a Digital Future.

The new law in the works in Pennsylvania is a serious one. It’s never been more urgent. At this point, all states should make sure they’re not one step behind the swindlers.

Consider that we’re at the beginning (says Wall Street) of an economy that integrates artificial intelligence. It’s not hard to imagine how deed thieves will put tomorrow’s technology to use.