Florida Man Faces Organized Fraud Charge For Allegedly Using Dubious Docs In Title-Hijacking Racket Targeting Homes In Foreclosure, Unwitting Renters

In West Palm Beach, Florida, The Palm Beach Post reports:

• A Wellington man was collecting thousands of dollars in rent every month on homes he didn't own, all while living in a posh five-bedroom house in the gated Versailles community, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigation.
• Kesner Joaseus, 41, was arrested Thursday and charged with one count of organized fraud following a nine-month investigation that found 30 questionable quit-claim deeds giving Joaseus' company ownership of the properties.
• Joaseus then could turn on the utilities in the homes, which were in foreclosure. In 10 cases where owners could be found, they confirmed to sheriff's detectives that they did not sign the quit-claim deeds giving K&R Investment Capital rights to the properties. Five of the 10 homes had been rented out with monthly payments as high as $1,200.

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• A quit-claim deed on Joaseus' own 8,000-square-foot Versailles home is one of the 30 questionable documents. Since 2006, the house has had two quit-claim deeds filed in the name of Joaseus' wife, Rose, with a $2 million sale recorded to a third party between the two deeds.

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• Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts Sharon Bock warned Friday that homeowners should watch for false or fraudulent filings made on their homes. It can be an expensive problem for the true home­owner, who may have to spend thousands of dollars and months in court to confirm ownership of the property and obtain an eviction.(1)

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• The quit-claim deeds filed by Joaseus also involved two notaries who admitted to detectives that they would stamp the deeds even though the owner of the property wasn't present. It is believed a third notary's stamp was stolen and his signature was forged on the deeds. It was the third notary's name that appears on a 2009 quit-claim deed awarding the Versailles home to Rose Joaseus, officials said.

For more, see Wellington man accused of filing questionable quit-claim deeds.

(1) Typically, it's up to the victimized homeowner to file a civil lawsuit known as a quiet title action, in which he/she has the burden of proving that the rogue land documents are forgeries, in order to remove any 'clouds', or claims (either legitimate or purported) on the title and otherwise clear up the mess and reclaim his/her home title. Further, the lawsuit has to name the scammer who perpetrated the ripoff, as well as anyone else (ie. mortgage lender, lienholder, subsequent purchaser, etc.) who may have acquired a purported interest in the property (innocently or otherwise) concurrent with, or subsequent to, the ripoff.