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 say he tried to steal his own dad’s house. Yep.
He was arrested, let go on his personal recognizance, and told to reappear at his arraignment. He was a no-show. And that means Timothy W. is a wanted man again. What’s more, additional people have since stepped up, saying they believe the same person tried to take their homes away, too.
Designed to Look Like Normal Listings
In early November 2023, Timothy W. was arrested and charged. Charging documents told the story of forged warranty deeds for three Houston-area properties — two very valuable empty lots, and a Houston condo that belonged to the suspect’s dad.
How did the culprit get away with this, time after time?
During the course of the fraud, he’d list the properties on the market, just as with any normal home sale. The properties went through a legitimate listing agent. The alleged fraudster would talk with agents, pretending to be someone in the property owner’s family. He was skilled at the art of faking other people’s emails, text messages, and phone calls, and at meeting agents at the lots. He used the U.S. postal service and FedEx to post required paperwork to the county.
He is even alleged to have falsified notary public seals. Why didn’t the recorder’s office catch the fraud? We’ll talk about that in a minute.
Anyway, the forged sale documents named the legitimate property owner. And the property owners’ (faked) signatures appeared on regular warranty deeds.
Another part of this scheme was the targeting of properties with no mortgages or other liens. Mortgage companies would have noticed the unusual activity — but there were no mortgages on these properties.
An Honest Agent Tips Off Police
One of the properties the suspect had targeted was sold by an agent.
The agent, who worked with a company called New Leaf Real Estate, noticed a listing for a property he just helped a client buy for $5 million. This agent was reviewing newly listed properties and found the familiar address listed again — under another name.
He found it odd to see it listed at a stunning discount.
An investigation of the suspicious activity led police to identify two other Houston-area properties that followed the same pattern. One was a multi-million-dollar lot. And then there was the Houston condo property owned by none other than the alleged deed thief’s dad.
The plot had thickened, as deed fraud plots often do.
A Frighteningly Easy Scam…
One detective told KTRK-TV in Houston it was “frightening” to see how easy it was for the alleged criminal to falsely notarize the deeds. Going to OfficeMax to buy a notary stamp, and the rest was just a matter of unmitigated gall.
Think about it. For a nominal fee to record the deed, someone can present a forgery to the county recorder that states they bought real estate.
And that’s what this perpetrator allegedly did: used a false notary stamp on forged documents naming himself as property owner. He allegedly forged at least three signatures, including his father’s. Once the perpetrator had taken control of his target properties with forged deeds, he could list the properties under his name. He could buy parcels at huge discounts. And he could try to offload stolen real estate before the swindled owners caught on.
And a Huge Hassle for Victims
One of the properties was under investigation before a repurchase occurred. But another owner didn’t get to the police quite so early. The thief sold that parcel, worth more than $800K, for $530,000. So, the police contacted the title company. They explained that the sale involved fraud. The sale funds were frozen and reversed. But the owner is still working on the legal return of the deed.
What a hassle. And this whole story is likely to get even worse. Police say there are probably other victims out there, still unaware that anything has happened to their deeds.
How can other homeowners stop this from happening?
In news reports, the deed recorder’s office has recommended that residents check their property records, just as they check their credit scores. The county involved has a website. People can visit it as often as they wish, and check on property records. They’ll want to check that their properties are filed under their names, with no unexpected deed claims.
By now, some of you are surely shaking your heads…
Why is monitoring the records the responsibility of innocent deed holders? Why must police resources constantly stay at risk of being tapped for bad deed transfer investigations? Why must victims desperately struggle, hoping they can get their homes back? Can’t this nonsense be nipped in the bud by people in the position to nip it?
A new Texas law aims to answer these very good questions.
Post Script: Texas County Deed Recorders Can Now Do More to Halt Fraud
According to traditional real estate law, deed recording offices are not in the role of examining deeds for possible fraud. This is true throughout the states. To this day, deed recording offices generally cannot intervene in fraudulent activities like the ones in the Houston case. If they could, these offices would avert activity like this before a fraudulent deed is placed on record.
Texas is no exception to that general rule. So, Texas real property transaction laws need to be changed by the lawmakers themselves to allow county clerks’ offices to scrutinize deeds before recording them.
This process has begun. Texas officials can now check the photo ID of anyone asking to record a deed transfer. They are to refuse filings from anyone who won’t show an ID. Texas adopted the new law this year, but it’s limited. First, the deed recorder has to decide to apply it. Plus, it applies specifically to recorders’ offices that process electronic filings. But it’s a start. Before the new “dirty deeds” law, only the largest counties were vested with the authority to check filers’ IDs.
Can additional laws be far behind? Some lawmakers want to require fingerprints from deed filers. Some want penalties for notarizing a signature on a deed that wasn’t done in front of the notary. Checking the notary’s standing is another way to halt the recording of bogus deeds.
Meanwhile, the task of resolving shady deed transfers falls on innocent homeowners. And that’s just not fair.
Editorial Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only and is intended to bring awareness to the issue of real estate deed forgery and its consequences. It is in no way an endorsement or trivialization of illegal activities. The details of the criminal case are reported to inform the public and aid in prevention. We strongly condemn all forms of fraud and illegal activity. If you believe you are a victim of real estate fraud, we urge you to contact local law enforcement. For more information on how to protect yourself from real estate fraud, please consult with legal professionals or your local authorities.
Supporting References
Brooke Taylor for ABC13, ABC, Inc., KTRK-TV Houston via ABC13.com (Houston, Texas): Fraud — Alleged Home Warranty Deed Forgery Scheme Exposes Flaws in Harris County Legal System (Nov. 16, 2023).
Charly Edsitty for ABC13, ABC, Inc., KTRK-TV Houston via ABC13.com (Houston, Texas): SCAM — Alleged ‘Mastermind’ Behind $15M Warranty Deed Scam Against Houston-Area Properties Wanted After Missing Court (Nov. 10, 2023).
And as linked.
More on topics: Real estate listing scams, Texas deed swindles
Photo credits: Zachary Caraway and Sora Shimazaki, via Pexels.