Tag: deed fraud
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Mortgage Borrower: Is Someone Looking to Take Your Deed?
In a case that has received wide attention, an heir to a home in Queens got an email from the mortgage servicer. It was about an address change. When asked about the letter, the company said someone had paid off the loan. The owner then went to the property and saw workers throwing out his…
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Can a Life Estate Be Challenged?
Regular Deeds.com readers know that signing a gift deed to an adult child can have tax drawbacks. A life estate can be the answer. And it avoids any concerns that the deed will go into probate after death—perhaps to be challenged by others. But sometimes, a relative might come along and challenge the life estate!…
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Couple Gets Prison for Stealing 2 San Diego Deeds. (Fort Worth Couple Says: Hold Our Beer!)
A married couple on tourist visas just got sentenced for a high-stakes swindle. It involved selling homes they did not own, then laundering about a million dollars out of the sale.
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Where Does Your County Recorder Stand on Deed Fraud?
Deed theft? Mortgage fraud? Yes, they’re among the country’s fastest-growing white-collar crimes. It keeps getting easier for swindlers to create and record bogus documents that manipulate real estate ownership and financing. Allen County, Indiana, Recorder Nicole Keesling spoke out this year about the public trust that comes with being elected to the role. At national…
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Rural Land: Emerging Target for Deed Fraud
This land is your land? Well, swindlers have set their sights on land across rural America. They’re impersonating deed holders. Before you know it, they may be taking your land, to make it their land. If you or someone you know owns rural property—and especially if they don’t live on or near the land—here’s what…
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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…
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Are You Ready for Arizona’s New Deed Fraud Law?
A 2026 law has changed the game for deed fraud in Arizona. The law is now just weeks from taking effect for Arizona deed transfers. Are you ready? The new law targets two steps in a property transfer: Two Republican lawmakers worked in tandem to make sure this bill got the fast-track treatment. Arizona Senator…
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Struggling With Your Mortgage Payments in a Harsh Economy? Not All Promises of Help Are Legit.
There are deep problems in the U.S. housing economy—including for deed holders. And today, for many households coping with inflation, oil price surges may be the last straw. This financial pressure will likely create many more targets for the grotesque business of promising mortgage relief in order to snatch equity from homes. You might have…
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Deed Theft News: Brooklyn Case Shows Why Facts Matter
It’s called deed theft, title fraud, house stealing, or title piracy. At its simplest, it involves the recording of a deed or other property document that appears to transfer ownership without the true owner’s permission. In some cases, criminals forge signatures, impersonate owners, or use false identities to record documents that appear valid on their…
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NYC Opens First Office to Fight Deed Theft
It is the city’s first office dedicated to deed theft prevention. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has just formed the Mayor’s Office of Deed Theft Prevention for New York City. What’s deed theft? It’s the taking of a home by shady paperwork. The culprits falsify deeds and notarizations. Then they record the falsified documents. Additional forms of…
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Tennessee Deed Fraud Law Update
If you hang your hat in Tennessee, watch out for a potential law that changes the way deeds are submitted and verified. Somebody nearly stole Elvis Presley’s Graceland home in Memphis through deed fraud. Brent Taylor, a Republican State Senator in Memphis, says such activity is what lawmakers want to “put a stop to.” When…
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Five Key Steps To Protect Senior Deed Holders From Scams
Older homeowners, especially those whose mortgages are paid off, can be targeted for deed theft. The crime involves someone else pressuring a vulnerable senior or forging documents to gain control over the property’s value. But good, timely planning can protect the senior—and, ultimately, protect the senior’s heirs in turn.
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Operation Hard Money: How a Team of Mortgage Scammers Exploited Los Angeles Seniors Through Title Fraud
The FBI recently arrested 11 people in Los Angeles. The investigation involved people who went after more than $17 million in deed theft, say prosecutors. To get that money, they repeatedly attempted financial fraud. The swindlers allegedly took over the titles to their victims’ homes so they could exploit them for loan collateral. Older adults…
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Next? Rhode Island Is Now Proposing a Law to Stop Impersonators From Recording Deeds
A new law has been introduced in Rhode Island. If enacted, it will require anyone recording a deed to show government-issued photo ID. County officials would gain the authority to delay recording, or report a suspicious document to law enforcement. The point? To deter would-be fraudsters attempting to take over people’s properties. Deed theft typically…
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End Deed Fraud! Florida Tests ID Rule, California Requires Alerts
Real estate prices keep rising. A home title is increasingly valuable. For people who specialize in deed fraud, deed records might as well be pots of gold. These smooth operators are on the lookout for properties they can control, sell, or use to obtain loan or rent money. What happened to the days when a…
