Phony Land Document Epidemic Infects Charlotte-Area Courthouses; Recording Official: "My Records Are Literally Full Of This Stuff!"

In Weddington, North Carolina, The Associated Press reports:

• Officials at Charlotte-area courthouses say they are seeing epidemic of frivolous paperwork filed by people claiming the right to seize foreclosed property.



• The bogus deeds are being filed by people who claim to belong to the Moorish Science Temple of America, an obscure religious sect founded in the 1920s with beliefs loosely connected to Islam.



• In one incident, a real estate agent and a couple viewing a foreclosed $700,000 home in the Union County town of Weddington were confronted on June 1 by two men who produced a deed claiming the home in the name of the Moorish Science Temple, The Mecklenburg Times reported.(1)

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• J. David Granberry, Mecklenburg County's register of deeds, said at least 200 deeds and other documents filed in his office in the name of the Moorish Science Temple are "outright fraud."



• Granberry said he's seen forgeries and notary fraud in the deeds claiming ownership of vacant, foreclosed properties. Many times, the documents appear official and legitimate, he said. "My records are literally full of this stuff," he said. "It's like an epidemic, as far as I can tell."



• In Union County, about 25 deeds have been filed this year in the name of the Moorish Science Temple, Register of Deeds Crystal Crump said.



• Granberry and other officials said as more homes have fallen into foreclosure and been vacated, the more opportunity there's been for others to move in. Real estate agents in Virginia and police in California warn of similar incidents there.



• "Today, all you have to do is go on to the Internet to find sites that purport to tell you how to beat your mortgage," said Tom Miller, legal counsel for the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.



• Registers of deeds say they are powerless in the face of fake deeds. As long as the deeds meet certain requirements, their offices must accept them, Crump said. "We don't check to make sure the title is good," Crump said. "That's why people have an attorney. Anybody can do this, and there is nothing we can do to stop it."

For more, see NC officials say fake property claims flooding in on real estate caught in foreclosure crisis.

(1) According to the story, the grand sheik of the Moorish Science Temple in Charlotte said his group is not affiliated with any effort to seize vacant properties. Christopher Bennett-Bey said he has heard of similar real estate scams around the country, which misrepresent a faith he has followed for more than two decades. He said he does not believe people using the group's name are members.