Juan Fernandez-Barquin wants to make sure homeowners don’t become victims of deed thieves.
“Property fraud is ... a scheme where the fraudsters will file a forged deed,” said Fernandez-Barquin, the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller of Miami-Dade County.
The criminal will file fake documents that will list a new property owner, either an individual or a corporation. Their goal is to take equity out of a property, through loans or other means.
“But the bottom line is that the grantor or previous owner did not sign the [fake] deed,” Fernandez-Barquin said at Miami Lakes Town Hall on April 17. “It was forged.”
The crime is a civil offense that can require an attorney to help unravel.
His office launched a service that property owners can sign up for. If someone steals a deed or tries to, the authentic owner will get an alert.
Warning signs that a thief is trying to steal a property include:
--County tax bills or notices stop arriving in the mail;
--Delinquent notices arrive for mortgages that are current;
--Mail arrives for loans the true owner didn’t take out;
--The owner receives suspicious calls, emails or texts about the status of a property.
To register for the alert or get more information, go to bit.ly/4ezLvzL.