They were indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury on Thursday and are scheduled to be arraigned on Friday morning, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.
“Quitclaim deeds have a certain purpose,” Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. said during a press conference Thursday afternoon. “But it’s not a good way of conveying a property that you’re going to buy. It should not be used when you’re purchasing a property.”
Quitclaim deeds are quick ways to transfer property and often are used by family members. But in quitclaim fraud, a quitclaim deed with a false signature of the owner, coupled with a negligent or complicit notarization, is recorded against the property.
The alleged thefts involving Washington and Johnson occurred between April 11 and Sept. 5 of this year, according to the indictment.
Washington and Johnson allegedly used quitclaim deeds to fraudulently transfer three properties — one in Dayton, one in Centerville and one in Huber Heights — to Love Has Homes LLC, forging the signatures of the homeowners.
Johnson then allegedly notarized the deeds and brought them to the Montgomery County Recorder’s Office to record the transfer.
A limited liability corporation named Love Has Homes LLC was registered in Ohio in 2019, according to Ohio Secretary of State’s records.
The defendants allegedly offered the properties far below market value. The Dayton property, located on Pinecrest Drive and valued at $133,900, sold for $35,000 to an unsuspecting buyer.
This transfer of this first property was flagged to the homeowner, who was signed up for the county’s Fraud Alert Notification System (FANS). FANS allows residents to receive an email, a letter or both whenever a deed, a mortgage or a lien is filed on parcels enrolled in the service. Residents can enroll on the county recorder’s website or at its office.
This triggered the investigation into Love Has Homes LLC, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The purported seller of the Huber Heights property, whose signature was allegedly forged, had been deceased for a year at the time of the transfer.
“You can see what these thieves do to take advantage of unsuspecting people,” Heck said. “What a criminal scheme.”
The transfer of two of the properties linked to Washington and Johnson was stopped before it could be completed, but the Dayton property was transferred and sold to another person. The prosecutor’s office is working with that owner to determine what can be done, Heck Jr. said.
Montgomery County Recorder Stacey Benson-Taylor last year reported an uptick in quitclaim deed fraud in Montgomery County. Her office received 91 referrals regarding suspicious deed activity in 2023. Not all of these referrals were instances of property transfers between thieves and unsuspecting buyers, however, Benson-Taylor said.
Benson-Taylor said her office has implemented safeguards to prevent fraudulent activity. Montgomery County requires valid photo identification for anyone wanting to transfer a property using a quitclaim deed, and the office has made extra efforts to verify notaries appearing on documents.
“We’re confident that we’re on the right track to putting an end to predatory crimes like deed fraud,” Benson-Taylor said.
Heck Jr. said potential homebuyers should perform title searches on properties before completing a sale. But property owners who suspect that they’ve fallen victim to quitclaim deed fraud should contact his office’s consumer fraud unit and the recorder’s office.
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