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Rachel Dollar, the editor of Mortgage Fraud Blog, is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles litigation for lending institutions and secondary market investors. She is an author and a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of mortgage fraud. Ms. Dollar is a shareholder with the law firm of Smith Dollar, PC, is licensed to practice law in California and maintains offices in Santa Rosa, California. Email Ms. Dollar
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The Kansas City Star published an article on property theft . A quote from the article provides details as to how this scheme works:
The typical scenario involves a thief forging the property owner’s name on a quitclaim deed or a warranty deed. The forgery suggests that the owner sold the house or deeded the property to the thief. The forged deed is notarized either legitimately or fraudulently, then filed with the Jackson County Department of Records. Once the document is processed, the thief becomes the owner of record.
The thief then uses the property as collateral for a bank loan. In some cases, lax or corrupt mortgage brokers and appraisers help pave the way with inflated appraisals and phony loan application documents. Another option is to sell the house as a fixer-upper to another buyer. In either scenario, the thief cashes out and seemingly disappears. . . .
Authorities have discovered that in many cases the legitimate owners are elderly or in nursing homes. The thieves sometimes scour obituaries for deceased property owners to victimize, investigators said.
The thieves often use aliases and file a string of deeds on a single property to muddle the paper trail.
They often focus on distressed neighborhoods, cruising the streets for vacant homes. In many cases, the houses are vacant or appear abandoned by off-site owners. In such scenarios, it is less likely that the owner will discover the theft or have the financial resources to seek legal help, investigators said.
The article also references several other criminal and civil suits alleging this type of conduct, including:
Two forgery counts filed by Jackson County prosecutors against William A. Carter alleging that Carter forged the names of a deceased couple and then sold their property as a fixer-upper to Leroy Brown Jr.
A civil action in Jackson County court against Gordon J. Thomas by two Kansas City men. The case is reported to include allegegations that the mens’ signatures were forged on a warranty deed.
A civil action against Miles Thomas, listed in the lawsuit at the same address as Gordon J. Thomas, by a 78-year-old Kansas City man in connection with an allegedly fraudulent warranty deed.
A civil lawsuit by an elderly woman against Brent Barber and three other defendants that was filed in November 2000 alleging a fraudulent quitclaim deed. The article states that Barber is also named in four other quiet title lawsuits in Jackson County Circuit Court. Barber was indicted by a federal grand jury in Kansas City in August and has entered a plea of not guilty.
i am not a lawyer, nor do i work for a loan company,
I live in cincinnati ohio. I inharited a house to me
that was paid for in full, my ex-wife forged a general
power of attorney and stole a co-workers notary stamp
and notarised the document. She then took a loan out
on my house with out me knowing anything about it for
$80,000, one year later she, with out me knowing it,
went and forged a quit claim deed, stole the notary
stamp again and went on to take a second loan on my
inharited home for $120,000. she paid on the loan for
about 8 months and then stopped. I found out about
this through a notice that came in the mail that
stated that there were foreclosure precceedings being
filed to take my house.
In shock I went down and pulled a copy of the quit
claim deed from the hamilton county auditers office
and much to my suprise i was holding a deed that had
my forged name on it granting my ex-wife full owner
ship of my home.
My case is in civil court now, my lawyer believes
that I will get my house back. i have depositions from
all of the witnesses on these documents stating that
they did not sign there names to them, as well as a
deposition from my ex-wifes co-worker stating that she
didnt notarize anything for my wife and went on to
explain that my wife is the only other person that had
access to her office.
I have a question? should I go to the police? will
the loan company do that? should I inform the loan
company that i am filing a complaint with the police?
How does all that work. im lost.
Thank you I hope to here back from you, Have a great
day. Nice web site
Posted by on 05/16 at 07:44 PM
my aunt was legally blind and her daughter tricked her into signing the property I had bought from her over to her by quick cclain deed. She told my aunt she was filing aa codicile to her will.She knew that I had paid for the property. My aunt had left me the property in her will and after she died her daughter told me she owns my property now
Posted by on 11/21 at 12:42 PM
my aunt was tricked by her daughter into signing a quick claim deed to property that I had paid for and she had left me the property in her will to me. My aunt was legally blind and she was told by her daughter that she was signing a codicile to her eill. Yhe signature does not look like her writing. Mu aunt passed away on Oct. 28 on Oct. 29 she told me she owns my property now and is going to collect rent on the mobile home on one of the lots that I have paid for
Posted by on 11/21 at 12:49 PM
Isold my home to someone signed over the deed, now two years later no taxes have been paid home in foreclousure, wanted me to agree to do short sale property deeded back to me 2 weeks before foreclousure do i have a case civil
Failed Mortgage Firm Trustee Allowed $50,000 in Fees Union Leader
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge J. Michael Deasy will approve $50,000 in legal fees for the trustee of failed mortgage brokerage businesses Financial Resources Mortgage Inc. and CL&M Inc.
Bend Oregon Event to Help Homeowners Prevent Foreclosures Oregon.Gov
As part of an ongoing effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, state agencies are organizing a foreclosure-prevention event in Bend on Saturday, March 27, 2010.
Shelbyville Man Gets 2-Year Sentence For Loan Fraud Chattanoogan.Com
Prosecutor Gary Humble said the lost was approximately $2.3 million in the mortgage fraud involving hundreds of homes in the Shelbyville area.
Lend America, VP Ashley Banned from FHA Housing Wire
Michael Ashley, the embattled former vice president of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed mortgage originator Lend America, and the company he worked for, were permanently banned from doing business in the industry last week.
Countrywide Tries to Pin Blame on Insurer Court House News
Countrywide Home Loans demands $111 million from Triad Guaranty Insurance, claiming Triad is trying to blame mortgage lenders for the insurer's role in the housing bubble and collapse.
Investors Say They Were Swindled in Property Scheme Fox 13 Now
Utah Division of Consumer Protection is joining forces with a few investors who claim they have been cheated by an agency called "Utah Mini Ranches.
Greenfield Man Accused of Housing Scam The Republic
A former real estate agent conned at least eight people by renting them properties actually owned by a federal agency and then running off with their deposits, prosecutors said.
Appraisal Institute Opposes Obama Administration's Plan for Homeowner 'Short Sales' PR News Wire
Citing concerns about increased mortgage fraud, four organizations representing more than 35,000 real estate appraisers today voiced their opposition to changes to an Obama administration program that will encourage "short sales" of homes.
Ownership Rights to Get Another Look TBO.Com
State lawmakers may beef up protections of property owners' rights by rewriting a law this spring that is at the center of a case of alleged fraud in Pasco County.
Thursday, February 18, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial Continued Testimony
As reported by Anne Mitchell, who viewed the trial:
Angela Parenza worked for Jeff Miller as the office manager for 7 or 8 years beginning in 1998. Parenza was indicted along with Miller and pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering. Parenza testified that Miller or his contractors allegedly preferred to build all the...
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial Coverage Continued - Witness Testimony
Steve Middleton Testimony - Coverage Provided by Anne Mitchell
The Government continued in its cross examination of Steve Middleton. He was shown several HUD-1 statements involving sales of homes located in Overland Park, KS, and Olathe, KS. The HUD statements each allegedly showed line items of payments to (James) Moser & Associates, LLC's...
Monday, February 01, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial Coverage - Continued Witness Examination
According to Anne Mitchell, who is present in court for the trial:
Next Witness: Kelly Sanford
Kelly Sanford of the Federal Reserve was a short witness for the Government. Sanford manages electronic payments between banks and member financial institutions. He was shown copies of wire transfers and asked whether they coincided with the counts in...
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial - Prosecution Witnesses Continued
According to Anne Mitchell, who is viewing the trial:
January 13, 2010
Witness: Rick Hayes
Rick Hayes testified that on the day that he closed on his Miller Enterprise home, he received a phone call from the Kansas Banking Commission informing him that his loan was fraudulent. After the Hayes responded to a classified ad, they met with John...
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The information and notices contained on Mortgage Fraud Blog are intended to summarize recent developments in mortgage fraud cases and mortgage banking matters nationwide. The posts on this site are presented as general research and information and are expressly not intended, and should not be regarded, as legal advice. Much of the information on this site concerns allegations made in civil lawsuits and in criminal indictments. All persons are presumed innocent until convicted of a crime. Readers who have particular questions about mortgage banking, mortgage fraud matters or who believe they require legal counsel should seek the advice of an attorney. The creators, editors and sponsors of Mortgage Fraud Blog do not intend to create a confidential relationship or an attorney-client relationship by communication via or arising from this site.
Rachel Dollar, the editor of Mortgage Fraud Blog, is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles litigation for lending institutions and secondary market investors. She is an author and a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of mortgage fraud. Ms. Dollar is a shareholder with the law firm of 
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