Convicted Armed Robbery, Carjacking Felon Out On Parole Now Gets Pinched For Allegedly Using Phony Quit Claim Deeds, Dubious Land Contract Deals To Snatch & Flip Vacant Motown-Area Houses He Doesn't Own; Unwitting Victims Lose Downpayments, Renovation Costs; Sheriff: “We’re Seeing More & More Of This Scam ..."

In Detroit, Michigan, the Detroit Free Press reports:

• Talk about a real estate scam.
  
  A man and a woman from Detroit are accused of selling properties, which they did not actually own, to unsuspecting buyers using phony paperwork.
  
  The man, Bernard Hardrick, 27, even tried to continue collecting payments for the land-contract arrangements from his victims while in jail, according to a news release from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. Hardrick is a parolee with previous convictions on charges including armed robbery and carjacking.
  
  The pair used phony quit-claim deeds to sell a property in the 3200 block of Sherbourne in Detroit for a $3,000 down payment and monthly payments of $650, and a property in the 18300 block of Gastonbury for a $3,000 down payment and monthly payments of $400, the release said.
  
  The Sherbourne property had been owned by a woman who died in 2012 before it reverted back to Bank of America, which had a mortgage interest in the property, the release said.
  
  The individuals who were victims of the scam are not only out of the money they paid, but also any renovations they might have started, the release said. And now, they have to find new places to live.
  
  “We’re seeing more and more of this scam, which victimizes the potential homeowner in many ways — it steals their cash, their dreams of homeownership and their sense of trust,” Sheriff Benny Napoleon said in the release. “On top of that, the real property owner now has to work to clear the title.”
  
  Sheriff’s office investigators began working the case a week or two ago after the office received a tip, according to Paula Bridges, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office.
  
  Both suspects are expected to face charges including forgery and deed fraud.
  
  The woman, who is not being named because she has not been arraigned, is also wanted on seven misdemeanor traffic warrants out of Detroit, Ypsilanti, Dearborn, Romulus and Ferndale, the release said. She was arrested by investigators with the sheriff's office.
  
  Hardrick was arraigned Tuesday on 28 counts of fraud relating to cases in Redford Township that also violated his parole, the release said.

Source: Sheriff: Pair used phony deeds in Detroit mortgage scam.