{"id":6467,"date":"2025-04-23T10:26:59","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T14:26:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=6467"},"modified":"2025-04-23T10:27:02","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T14:27:02","slug":"ghoulish-who-steals-deeds-from-the-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/ghoulish-who-steals-deeds-from-the-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghoulish: Who Steals Deeds From the Dead?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In Houston, stealing deeds from dead people is a thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investigators are looking into a deed fraud scheme carried out by three people. These people allegedly laundered deeds of dead homeowners through their limited liability companies. Then they sold the homes to unsuspecting buyers. They\u2019ve pulled in hundreds of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is no different from someone robbing a bank,\u201d said local attorney Cris Feldman, except the perpetrators are \u201cdoing it with pen and paper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Trio Tracked Down<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Harris County D.A. has named a certain Liliana V. and a mother-son duo in the above thefts. All three are accused of transferring deeds of dead homeowners to various LLCs and then reselling the homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the deceased people targeted was Suzanne Donisi \u2014 a notable figure in the history of property ownership and deed rights. When Suzanne bought her Texas home in 1976, she was one of the first single women to ever pull it off. That\u2019s because single women could not acquire deeds by themselves before 1974. Seriously. As Bankrate<\/em><\/a> <\/em>puts it: \u201cWomen in the U.S. were not allowed to finance real estate purchases without a husband or male co-signer until the 1970s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suzanne Donisi\u2019s home was worth $320K when her deed was swiped, just before she passed in late 2023. She\u2019d been suffering from dementia for some time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tricky trio created a deed and backdated it, then recorded it after Suzanne passed away. This came out in the surviving brother\u2019s quiet title action<\/a> in the civil courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suzanne\u2019s signature was forged. The notary seal belonged to a notary who hadn\u2019t been in the business since the 1990s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Seasoned Developer, Caught Up in a Deed Scam<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The ultimate recipient of that deed, a Houston-area developer, was caught by surprise, and is cooperating with both the criminal investigation and the civil action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And not just in one deed transfer case. The same developer bought more than one property from the same seller. All told, the development firm is claiming losses of more than $1.5 million in the cases. Meanwhile, Suzanne Donisi\u2019s family struggles just to get their property back.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harris County has been dealing with the mess for most of the past year. The office of the D.A. states:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defendants\u2019 elaborate scheme stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from innocent people, through fraudulent and unauthorized sales of properties.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in 2022, the same Liliana V. was charged with deceiving a mentally disabled homeowner to gain control over a deed. That case didn\u2019t have enough evidence to stick, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dead Notaries Also Exploited<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, in Florida, a deed swindler in Volusia County has been tried for deed transfers and notarizations from property owners who are now dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon after Charles G. died in Daytona Beach, the county recorded a quitclaim he supposedly signed. The named recipient \u2014 a local, but a stranger to Charles \u2014 turned around and sold the home to an investment business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Florida authorities ignored a surviving sister\u2019s calls for assistance. So she got News 6 on the line. An investigative news team tracked down a certain Javon W., who took several homes. One, believe it or not, was the family home of a jailed friend. Notably, after the incarcerated friend\u2019s mother died, her name was never removed from the title. Javon forged her name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Javon W. has pleaded no contest<\/em> to organized fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mobile notary whose name appeared on the seal said she actually never signed the deed, but backed out because the deed was handwritten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fraudulent quitclaim deeds<\/em><\/a>\u00a0are common in deed thefts. But quitclaim deeds can be perfectly legitimate. Spouses, relatives, co-buyers, and business owners often use quitclaims to pass deeds between themselves or to their companies. \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impersonators, Squatters, Thieves<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Previously we noted the case of a certain Wanda who dressed up as her own elderly mother, then tried to steal her Florida home. Wanda used an online notary service when forging a quitclaim deed. In May 2023, Wanda was arrested, charged with the forgery as well as elder exploitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve also reported on James, who faked dead<\/em> notaries\u2019 and witnesses\u2019 signatures on multiple home deeds. One of James\u2019s false documents was a bogus life estate deed, designed to steal a $345K home from the adult child of its occupant, a Florida senior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The revocable life estate deed is a probate-free way to pass a home along after death.<\/em> There\u2019s also the <\/em>enhanced life estate\u00a0deed<\/em><\/a> (\u201clady bird deed\u201d), that offers the deed holder who creates it an extra degree of control. It\u2019s available in Texas, Florida, and a few other states.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s not all. James actually moved into a home he got from its dead owner through a fake quitclaim. He was attempting to find a buyer when he was jailed for grand theft, forgery, elder exploitation, and manipulating the personal data of someone who\u2019s died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a Deed Holder Dies\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Remove the name from the title!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaving a dead person\u2019s name on the deed can attract people who impersonate the deceased. Surviving co-owners are wise to update the title to their home when:<\/p>\n\n\n\n