LA Man Charged With Stealing, Flipping House; Girlfriend Accused Of Notarizing Falsified Documents Used In Deed Theft

In El Monte, California, KTTV-TV Channel 11 reports:

• A Los Angeles city firefighter who works as a part-time real estate broker and his ex-girlfriend pleaded not guilty [...] in connection with an alleged real estate scam. Brent Lamont Mathews, 43, is charged with six counts of forgery, three counts of attempt to file a false or forged instrument and two counts of grand theft, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Joi Rochelle Smith, 33, a notary public who was Mathews' girlfriend at the time of the alleged crimes, faces the same charges.

• Prosecutors allege that Mathews put himself on the title of a Hacienda Heights property without the owner's knowledge or consent through a series of forgeries and false filings. Mathews allegedly went on in 2008 to defraud two investors he had solicited as partners to flip the house and who collectively lost $146,000, according to the District Attorney's Office. Smith is accused of notarizing key documents, enabling the illegal transactions, according to prosecutors. Mathews sold the property for $699,000 and netted $203,969, though none of the proceeds from the sale were used to satisfy the trust deeds or to benefit the property owner, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Source: LA Firefighter Facing Scam Allegations (Man, ex-girlfriend charged in real estate case).