A Florida couple is charged with stealing properties from homeowners using an amazingly easy scam that costs less than $1 a pop to pull off, according to reports.
Victor Rodriguez, 50, and his 33-year-old wife, Michelle Cherry, allegedly forged “quitclaim deeds” on homes in Tampa and Miami-Dade County — including one property owned by Rodriguez’s ex-father-in-law, according to a report by WTVT-TV News.
“We found out that the titles of my father’s properties had all changed through quitclaim deeds,” said Caroline Sauer, the accused house thief’s ex-wife, to the outlet. “We questioned, how did this happen?
“Who forges a deceased person’s signature? Who does that?” she said.
A quitclaim deed is a document that transfers ownership of a property with the owner’s consent — but crooks can simply forge signatures on it and walk away with the title for as little as 70 cents in processing costs in Florida, the Daily Mail said.
Most states have little on the books to make the theft process more difficult.
In addition to his former father-in-law, Rodriguez, with Cherry’s help, allegedly pulled off the same scam in Tampa, forging records to take claim over the home of Larry and Dreama Bilby, WTVT said.
The Bilbys, whose home was under construction and unoccupied at the time, were shocked when they learned in February that they had supposedly walked into the Hillsborough County Clerk’s office and signed over their home. They never had.
“I was so angry, I aImost couldn’t talk,” Dreama Bilby told the outlet. “I was so angry.”
According to Hillsborough County Clerk Cindy Stuart, pulling off the forgery “only requires a notary and two signatures with an address listed next to them.”
Sunshine State prosecutor Mike Lennon said the scams are getting more common.
“To have someone steal your property is like stealing the American dream,” he said. “It’s terrible.”
Both Rodriguez and Cherry, who were busted in March, pleaded not guilty to the fraud charges.
“Mr. Rodriguez maintains his innocence, and our office is entrusted with the responsibility of protecting his rights,” lawyers for Rodriguez said in a statement to reporters.
“Because his case is under active litigation, he is protected by both work product privilege and attorney/client privilege. We are responsible for ensuring justice and fairness in legal proceedings, protecting Mr. Rodriguez”s rights and upholding the rule of law,” the statement said.