Bad Deeds Shouldn’t Go Unpunished: Fraud Updates From All Over

A quitclaim deed is a useful tool, when created by the right hands and transferred for the right reasons. But in the hands of forgers and swindlers, these instruments harm people. Especially seniors, the families of deceased homeowners, and people who don’t live in their homes. But actually, anyone could be caught up in a scam.

Sensing an opportunity in people’s fear of being swindled, deed theft prevention companies have sprung up.

But governments need to step up, and protect their residents from this noxious form of fraud.

Untrustworthy Trust

Sometimes, swindlers can ensnare wealthy deed holders, too. Craig A. (a real homeowner) got a startling call from his homeowner’s association. His multi-million-dollar Raleigh home had been transferred into a certain Dawn M. Trust.

Dawn Mangum had asked the association for a gate key. That’s when the association called Craig.

The startled homeowner headed to the Register of Deeds of Wake County, North Carolina. What was going on? Dawn M. (a real swindler) had created a falsified deed. Wake County recorded it.

In North Carolina, as in many states, county clerks take and immediately record the documents presented to them. It’s not their task to validate or invalidate a deed. Nor do the deed recorders check the bona fides of the notary or the person signing a deed away.

An ABC11 Troubleshooter report publicized the story. Dawn M. has now been charged under the state’s criminal law. And still, the county can’t invalidate the bad deed without a court order. It will cost Craig thousands of dollars to file a civil suit as the county suggested.

Some states are changing this game. More and more legislatures are saying that county officers should verify the deeds they record. Which brings us to Georgia.

Misdeeds in Georgia

Georgia lawmakers want stronger laws against fraudulent deeds. Under current law, anyone can present a deed for recording without showing an ID or proof of ownership. But now there’s House Bill 1292, signed into law in 2024. The new Georgia law will:

• Require identification when individuals present deeds to the recorder’s office.

• Broaden penalties for deed forgery.

• Open a pathway to the civil courts to address deed fraud, with recovery of attorney’s fees and court costs for certain quiet title cases.

• Require notaries to keep detailed records, and take courses that cover fraud awareness.

• Make electronic recording the default rule when individuals (as opposed to real estate professionals) present deeds to the recorder’s office.

All of this comes after Misdeeds, an Atlanta News First investigative series, highlighted Georgia’s deed theft problem. The series focused on victims like:

• Robert E., who had lived in the same Atlanta home for five decades when the deed was improperly transferred by his stepson.

• Brenda B., whose sister’s deed was stolen after her death.

• Eric C., who got back from a trip to find a foreclosure auction notice on his door.

The new deed protection law takes effect New Year’s Day, 2025.

Order in the Court

A company called ARLO 67 LLC called Ayisha D. to say: “We purchased your uncle’s interest in the house, so we own half the house.” Ayisha’s uncle Walter inherited the home in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, along with Ayisha’s mother. But Walter had long been estranged from the family. Ayisha’s mother had faithfully maintained the home and paid its bills for many years.

The next bombshell was the default judgment from a foreclosure court. An investor who acquires an interest in a co-owned home may ask the courts to force a partition sale; apparently, that happened here. And then the home was auctioned off to ARLO 67 — which actually proceeded to sue Ayisha for living in it.

An LLC can “bury you in a mountain of paper,” Doyle told the Amsterdam News. As for the work and cost of trying to recover a home: “It’s just on you.”  

The case, reports the Amsterdam News, has gone through five different courtrooms. 

Leaving your home to multiple people? Want to avoid the risk of a partition sale? One option is to create a family trust.

Know the Score

New York Attorney General Letitia James has heard too many stories like Ayisha’s. In 2023, Deeds.com readers may recall, James announced the addition of a new crime in New York: deed theft.

This year, James announced that several people including a disbarred lawyer would go to prison for a million-dollar deed fraud scheme in New York City. The disgraced lawyer pleaded guilty to forging legal documents used in the scheme.

The ring “took advantage of elderly and vulnerable homeowners,” said AG James when announcing the sentencing in Queens County Court.

A former mortgage consultant advertised the homes to investors. Accomplices stood by, ready to impersonate the true owners at closings. The swindlers used fake IDs to open bank accounts under the true owners’ names. Until the music stopped.

“We are making them pay,” said James.

Deeds: Can Texans Hold ‘Em?

In Texas, the House Committee on Business and Industry recently held hearings on deed theft. They listened to disturbing testimony from people who had lost their titles to swindlers.

Norma in South Dallas testified that she got a call one day, telling her that a piece of land she owned was being cleared. Norma went to the county deed recorder’s office, and found out what was going on. A falsified deed had been recorded. It had clear signs of tampering — even crossed-out text. But there it was, in the official records.

For most of this year, Norma has been struggling in the civil court system to recover her title. Two people have been charged in the scam.

So far, Norma has spent thousands of dollars on the case. Many people lack the money it takes to deal with a case like Norma’s.

Now, the Dallas County District Attorney’s office wants Texas lawmakers to follow New York’s lead. Can the state write deed theft into the criminal code? We’ll be watching.

A Detroit Nonprofit Exposed

A story out of Michigan could be the most bizarre of all. Detroit resident Zina T. was charged this year with forging more than 30 quitclaims. Most of the ill-gotten gains were transferred into a nonprofit she runs, the United Community Housing Coalition, before being sold off to buyers.

The nonprofit was supposedly helping struggling deed holders avoid foreclosures. But it was actually taking those people’s deeds away.

Deed scams have been crushing people financially for years in Detroit. It’s been so prevalent, that people feel this is just the way things go in Detroit, and there’s no one to turn to for help.

But finally, House Bill 5598/5599 could bring reforms. If passed, the amendments will:

• Establish a felony for anyone attempting to falsify a property deed. The crime will be “punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.”

• Connect deed recorders to county prosecutors who can review property documents.

This reform is in the committee review process. We’ll keep you posted.

What You Can Do

Visit the website of your county Recorder of Deeds. Many counties now offer free fraud alert emails. Opt in, and you’ll know if there’s any activity on your deed. That can help you report a fraud before the perpetrator can pass off your deed to another buyer.

If your county doesn’t have an alert system, ask if and when they plan to set one up. Let’s keep our hard-earned deeds in the right hands.