Arizona Deed Theft Ring Out Of Business

The operations of a six member deed theft ring was the subject of a recent article in The Arizona Republic, reported at azcentral.com.

The scheme was very straightforward. The ring would "steal a house" by recording a forged deed to the property, unbeknownst to the true owner, and then proceed to obtain a mortgage loan against it. Needless to say, the ring would take the mortgage proceeds and start the process over with another property. The true owners would only find out about the fraud when the mortgage lender, who was duped into making the loan, attempts legal action.

Reportedly, seven families were fleeced out of half a million bucks. Four of the six ring members were recently sentenced by authorities, including ex-real estate agent Lesley Romero, whose real estate license was revoked.

The other two ring members, Jessica Alvarado and Robert Mora, have yet to be apprehended and are currently on the lam. To read the article, see Beware of mortgage-fraud scam.

For links to recent stories on deed theft by forgery in Detroit and Boston, see Detroit Area Law Enforcement Targeting Deed Theft With Dedicated Units.

For a Philadelphia story, click here to see an NBC Channel 10 deed theft video report.

For a Chicago story, click here to see a CBS 2 video report on deed theft.

For a Lee County, Florida story, click here to see an NBC 2 deed theft video report.

For similar stories over the last couple of years, see this collection of deed theft by forgery reports on The Mortgage Fraud Blog, presented by The Prieston Group.

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