Lawsuit: Home Hijacker Used Forged Deed To Snatch Title To Rented $850K South Florida Home Out From Under Couple Living In Brazil; Scam Discovered When Tenant Was Refused Entry Into Gated Community

In Parkland, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:

• A Brazilian couple's lawsuit claims a South Florida company stole ownership of their Parkland home using a fraudulent quit-claim deed with a forged signature.
  
  "My client never signed anything, never sold their home, this came as a total surprise to them," said Elias Hilal, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who is representing the married couple, Hectory Ferreira and Audrey Nieman. "They are the rightful owners and have maintained their property in good standing."
  
  Hilal said Ferreira and Nieman have owned the home since 2011. The home is assessed at $566,000, according to the property appraiser.
  
  The couple lived in the house, [...] for several years and then rented it to a family friend after they moved back to Brazil.
  
  The friend, Andres Walter, was denied entry into the gated community on Feb. 19, according to the lawsuit. A security guard told Walter that the house had been sold, the suit says.
  
  ***
  "My client was not in the U.S. at the date Powermind claims he signed the deed in person in Palm Beach, that is something that is indisputable," Hilal said. "There was never any contract or any agreement between my client and Powermind, in fact, they had never heard of that company."
  
  Powermind has nine days remaining to respond to the lawsuit filed in Broward Circuit Court. The lawsuit seeks to nullify the quit-claim deed, and $5,000 in damages and court fees.

For the story, see Couple files lawsuit claiming company stole ownership of Parkland home (Homeowner says his signature was forged on quit-claim deed transferring ownership of his $850,000 Parkland residence).