DC Man Gets 12+ Years In Deed Theft Scam Targeting Deceased Owners; Victimized Families Forced To File Civil Suits To Properly Restore Property Titles

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (District of Columbia):

• A District of Columbia man, Duane McKinney, [...] was sentenced [last week] to 150 months in prison on charges of fraud, theft, and monetary transactions,(1) [...].

***

• The government's evidence at trial established that Duane McKinney obtained title to about $1 million worth of D.C. and Maryland properties through forged deeds, that is, deeds which purported to be signed by the owners transferring the properties to McKinney or his shell business. In fact, the deeds were not signed by the owners; the vast majority of the owners were deceased at the time of the forged and false deeds.

• McKinney was assisted by Joe D. Liles,(2) who would sign his name to these false deeds as the "notary" falsely stating that he saw the owner sign the deeds as grantor and that the owner "personally appeared before him." Once the deeds were notarized, McKinney would then sell the properties as if they belonged to him or his business and would use the money for himself.

• Some of those who purchased the homes lost all of their purchase money;(3) others whose families owned the homes for generations were required to file suit against McKinney to regain their properties.

For the press release, see District of Columbia man sentenced to prison on charges of theft, fraud, and money transaction offenses relating to forged property deeds.

Go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here for other posts related to deed or refinancing scams by forgery, swindle, etc.

(1) McKinney was also ordered to pay $912,630.75 in restitution and to forfeit to the United States three luxury vehicles and two real properties; the court also ordered two money judgments in the amounts of $770,872 and $59,000.

(2) Liles was sentenced to 180 days, execution of sentence suspended, three years probation, and to pay restitution of $691,587, according to the press release.

(3) The press release is silent as to whether the unwitting homebuyers bore the entire loss of their purchases, or whether they obtained a title insurance policy (which would have likely insured their title against this type of scam), in which case the title agent & underwriter issuing the insurance may be left on the hook for the loss. KappaDeedTheft