HOUSTON – There are calls for legislative changes to prevent deed fraud after KPRC 2′s story about three properties getting transferred to a complete stranger and stamped by the same notary.
Selia Ybarra, whose home has been in the family for six decades, found out from a friend and KPRC 2 last week that her property transferred to Helen Yancy in March.
"How can somebody go take what you work hard for, what you suffered to get and hold on to?” Ybarra said.
Yancy received two other properties from different homeowners on the same day at the same time, real property records show.
Ybarra was shocked and scrambling to figure out what to do because she doesn’t know Yancy and said her signature on the deed was forged. The other two owners told KPRC 2 the same.
“Start looking up your documents. Do your research,” Ybarra said.
Many KPRC 2 viewers have been equally as shocked in comments on the story and wondering how such a drastic change could happen with no notice.
“It’s been easier for it to happen, now everybody’s kind of catching on,” Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen said.
It’s a crime he says has increased in the past couple years in Harris County and his investigators have worked deed fraud cases that have resulted in criminal charges.
Notaries are supposed to authenticate identification for everyone who signs the deed transfer and keep a record book that can be audited, Rosen said.
But in fraud cases, he said investigators are seeing fake or stolen stamps, or in some cases, licensed notaries getting paid off to help pull off the fraudulent transfer.
"Our crooks don’t want to include a real notary. They would rather just falsify the notary ... do the whole transaction themselves,” Rosen said.
His advice is to regularly check real property records to ensure ownership hasn’t shifted.
"You just got to take those extra steps because our criminals are taking those extra steps,” Rosen said.
“They’re smarter?” KPRC 2′s Bryce Newberry asked.
“They really are. They, they’ve got a lot of time on their hands to come up with unique ways of stealing things that don’t belong to them,” Rosen said.
The Harris County Clerk’s Office told KPRC 2 in part that under law, it’s “mandated to accept property document filings without discrimination to the public.”
The Clerk’s Office asks for an acceptable form of identification when people file records.
But the law doesn’t go far enough, Rosen said.
“There needs to be another step when you file a deed with the County Clerk that can authenticate the transfer of that property, because again, you’re talking in some cases, millions of dollars in property value,” he said.
His call echoed the Clerk’s Office.
“We are currently exploring ways to mitigate these challenges. However, there is currently no application available that can be implemented to catch up with this type of activity before it happens. The laws that guide property transactions in Texas need to be strengthened by the legislature to allow the implementation of measures to eliminate this type of fraud,” a spokesperson said.
Only a judge’s order can put the deed back to the rightful owner’s name, board certified real estate attorney Cassie McGarvey told KPRC 2.
In terms of criminal charges for a fraudulent deed transfer, Rosen said felonies could include impersonating a public servant, theft, or tampering with a governmental record.
He encouraged anyone dealing with a fraudulent deed transfer to contact law enforcement.
“The sooner you recognize that the property has been fraudulently transferred ... the easier it is to unwind,” he said.