WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – The Wayne County Register of Deeds believes that there are currently at least a dozen homes that have been stolen through an intricate crime called “deed theft – which involves fraudulently transferring ownership of a property by forging a deed.
“If you know anything about me, housing is extremely important to me, especially home ownership,” Detroit City Councilwoman Latisha Johnson said on Monday night.
Johnson, who represents District 4 on the city’s southeast side, was joined by Sandra Bucciero from the Register of Deeds’ Fraud Unit during a community meeting at Brown’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church on East Warren.
“We’re trying to do everything that we can to make sure we help stabilize our neighborhoods, and this is just one of those ways, just getting there.”
Deed theft involves someone fraudulently transferring ownership of a property by forging a deed of transfer.
This can include scenarios where someone transfers a property they don’t legally own or forges a signature on a deed and gets it notarized.
“So, that means that a notary is also filing fraudulent information, indicating that the person before them is the person that has completed the paperwork,” Johnson said. “There are a number of things that need to be addressed.”
According to the Wayne County Register of Deeds, since 2005, the Mortgage & Deed Fraud unit has:
- Cases opened: 2,343
- Arrests: 505
- Convictions: 347
- Stolen homes returned: 393
Last November, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a pair of bills that finally made filing fraudulent real estate documentation illegal.
However, Michigan law states that the Register of Deeds must still accept all deeds presented to them, even if they are found to be fake.
“The paperwork can still be filed, unfortunately, but it gives a resident a red flag for them to be able to go down to the county and share with the county that this information is inaccurate.”
To use the “fraud guard” service, you can go to waynecountylandrecords.com and click on the “Fraud Guard” tab or you can file a fraud complaint at waynecounty.com/register.
