California Man Gets 32 Months For Filing Phony Deeds To Illegally Claim Title To Homes In Foreclosure

In San Diego, California, XETV-TV Channel 6 reports:

• An ex-con who filed bogus grant deeds with the county Recorder's Office on six properties he claimed he owned was sentenced Friday to two years and eight months in prison. Maurice Antoine Simmons, 32, was convicted Aug. 31 of 15 counts, including filing and possessing false documents and forgery.

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• [Prosecutor Marlene] Coyne said Simmons and co-defendant King Solomon II, also known as Terry Lee Herron, would lay claim to properties that were in default, foreclosure or where the owners were behind in their payments. [...] She said Simmons showed great "braggadocio" by testifying that he had the right to claim the properties if they weren't cared for.

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• Defense attorney Jeff Carver said Simmons had a legitimate belief that he had a right to file the grant deeds on the troubled properties in Chula Vista and San Diego. "He was incorrect," Carver told the judge, noting Simmons paid $5,000 to get into the program to claim the properties under the guise of a religious order known as the Sovereign Solomon Brothers Archbishop Corporation Sole. Carver said Simmons made no effort to hide what he was doing.

For the story, see Man Who Filed Bogus Grant Deeds Sentenced to Prison.