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LAND FRAUD NIGHTMARE – IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!

Shining the light on the ever-increasing crime of seller fraud, deed fraud, and seller impersonation Imagine sitting at home or working at the office, minding your own business, when suddenly you receive a disturbing phone call informing you that not only is someone impersonating you, but they are also in the process of trying to […]
The post LAND FRAUD NIGHTMARE – IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU! first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 years ago

June 14, 2023

Forward Times Staff

Shining the light on the ever-increasing crime of seller fraud, deed fraud, and seller impersonation

Imagine sitting at home or working at the office, minding your own business, when suddenly you receive a disturbing phone call informing you that not only is someone impersonating you, but they are also in the process of trying to sell your land without your consent or knowledge.

Believe it or not, deed fraud and land theft is very frequent in Harris County, and it happens more often than you think. As a matter of fact, it recently happened to someone very close to the Forward Times newspaper—its very own owner, Karen Carter Richards.

Earlier this year, a realtor came by Karen’s home on a Friday afternoon looking for her, but she was not home at the time. Fortunately, her son and his wife happened to be at her house that day. Once the realtor determined that he had indeed found “the real Karen Carter Richards,” he immediately informed her son that her property was set to be sold on Monday morning for $235,000. Yes, you read that right. Her property was set to be sold in a few days!

An imposter was seeking to hijack Karen’s property right from under her nose.

Karen eventually spoke with the realtor about her property over the phone and was told that the title company they had been working with on a land transaction involving her property made him aware of some serious red flags relative to the deal. They encouraged the realtor to locate “the real Karen Carter Richards,” because several things seemed abnormal and weren’t adding up.

Some of the red flags that gave the imposter away to the title company included them: not being able to provide key information and documents when asked; constantly telling the title company they couldn’t find certain requested items and were looking for them; trying to sell the property under market value; wanting to do a quick sell; and not wanting to come into the title company to sign important documents.

Once notified about the imposter and the suspected land fraud, Karen immediately contacted real estate veteran Gerald Womack at Womack Development & Investment Realtors, who handles all of her real estate properties. He spoke with the title company and the realtor and worked with them to put a halt to the fraudulent real estate transaction and prevent a catastrophe.

Gerald Womack

The case was then turned over to the Harris County District Attorney’s Consumer Fraud Division, who has been in contact with Karen multiple times. They discovered several fraudulent documents that had been created, where her signature was forged on them. Karen also filed a police report with the Houston Police Department (HPD) and investigators have been working with the Harris County District Attorney to bring criminal charges against the imposters.

The entire ordeal was extremely unsettling for Karen, who doesn’t know how something like this could have happened to her, let alone anyone.

“I was shocked that this could happen to a vacant piece of property that my family has owned and paid taxes on since I was a teenager,” said Karen. “This has never happened to any of our properties. I have learned that vacant land is a target, so I would encourage anyone to make a point to check on their property more regularly. These people had a For Sale sign on my property, but because I rarely go over there, I didn’t know.”

Womack states that outside of Karen’s situation, he recently has had two other instances where this occurred. In the first, the seller was alerted directly by the listing agent after she failed to show up to the closing. In the other instance, Womack states that he was pulling information for a client on their property and noticed that it was listed for sale online and was pending. When he brought it to the owner’s attention, the owner thought Womack was mistaken until he saw it for himself. Womack then contacted the listing agent and was able to get it pulled from the market.

Neither property was sold.

Womack believes that the only way this type of crime works is under anonymity.

“Historically, a seller will meet with a real estate agent in person and list their property,” said Womack. “We have become an email and text driven society and thus these criminals are able to carry out this scheme by creating fictitious email addresses, temporary phone numbers, and mobile applications, which provides them ways to text from untraceable numbers.”

Womack states that when he is made aware that a property owner may be subjected to some fraudulent activity, the first thing he does is have them contact the listing agent who is marketing the property and get the information of the title company. He also advises anyone in this situation to alert the local authorities to file a police report.

“In my experience, this crime is generally only done with vacant land, but that is not to say it could not happen on inherited property, abandoned property, or run-down property either,” Womack emphasized. “Property owners need to routinely check their respective county appraisal’s website to confirm there has been no change in ownership. I would also suggest that they visit their property, especially if it is not where they reside, to ensure no changes have been made without their knowledge.”

Valerie Turner currently serves as Assistant District Attorney and is the head of the consumer fraud division at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. She wants the public to know that the likeliest victims are people who don’t use a title company to close a land transaction.

“Without a title company to check the title history, it is easy for crooks to sell property they don’t own to unsuspecting buyers, who pay good money and expect good title,” Turner says. “If the buyer goes through a title company, purchases title insurance, and then there is a problem, the title company is on the hook to either get the buyer good title or refund all of their money. Of course, if a thief inserts his name into the title history using a forged deed, a title examiner will not catch that because the title company does not investigate beyond the four corners of the deeds. They don’t call the last true owner and ask, ‘Did you sign the deed to the (current seller)?’ They don’t research to find out whether the last true owner was alive at the time of the purported signing of the deed. That only happens once there is a complaint, and our office investigates.”

Turner tells the Forward Times that her office worked in conjunction with the Harris County Clerk’s Office to pass legislation in 2016, which no longer allows a person in Harris County to anonymously file a real property document.

According to Turner, the law now requires that the person present photo identification, which is then scanned in by the clerk. That information is not made public, but if a complaint is received and her office investigates, they can ask for a copy of the photo identification. This law only is applicable in Harris County, in that some of the smaller counties objected to such a requirement.

The areas in Harris County that most often see this kind of theft are neighborhoods with abandoned houses. The crook can change the locks, file a deed inserting him into the chain of title, and put up a sign advertising the house as for sale. Then they give the unsuspecting buyer a deed once payment is made in full. Because the buyer received the property via fraudulent deed, no ownership was conveyed. According to Turner, the Sunnyside community in southeast Houston is a neighborhood where deed fraud occurs frequently.

Turner states that a property owner might only find out this has happened to them if they were to drive by their property or their house and see that it is occupied. She states that the owner might also check the Harris County Appraisal District’s (HCAD) website, especially after not receiving a property tax bill for some time, and learning that the property is now in someone else’s name.

“To avoid falling victim to this crime, owners should check the HCAD website once a year to make sure the property is still in their name,” says Turner. “Also, they should make sure they receive their property tax bill. Buyers should always close with a title company. That way, if something goes wrong, they are protected. Another option would be to purchase deed fraud insurance. Homelock and other companies sell this product. I don’t know the details of the policy though. I’m not sure if they just alert the owner to the fact that the property has been taken out of their name, or whether they insure the value of the property if a sale occurs without the owner’s consent.”

Unfortunately, Turner states that if someone impersonates an owner and sells their property, which is most often what they see happen at title companies, the owner is often out of luck if the sales proceeds are actually sent to the land thief by the title company. But, Turner indicates, in a case like that, they are usually able to trace the money to an account and investigate from there.

“If a thief files a forged deed, and sells the property that way, then there will be a cloud on the title and the true owner will not be able to sell the property,” Turner emphasizes. “If the true owner does not want to sell to the unsuspecting buyer, then they will have to hire an attorney to file a suit to remove the cloud from the title. If the unsuspecting buyer contests the matter in court, it could cost up to $50,000 or more to correct the situation. The true owner could file a lawsuit against the title company for not confirming the identity of the seller. I don’t know how successful that would be, though.”

According to Turner, these incidents are criminal in nature, and the Harris County District Attorney’s office often files the following charges: Aggregate Theft, Forgery, False Statement to Obtain Property, or Securing Execution of a Document by Deception.

Turner states that if the land thief is caught and identified, prison time is a possibility depending on that person’s criminal history and their ability to pay restitution.

“If the thief has a prior felony conviction and served prison time, it is doubtful we would offer probation, so prison time would be more likely,” says Turner. “If there is a significant amount of restitution owed due to a defendant’s actions, then a requirement would be for the person to pay a substantial amount of restitution upfront and show an ability to pay the remainder of the restitution. If they can’t do that, then prison time will be our offer.”

Turner states that the amount of prison time a land thief serves is dependent on the facts of the case, the number of properties stolen and their values, and the defendant’s criminal history.

“If we file Aggregate Theft for stealing from a true owner and unsuspecting buyer (or more than one of each), then the amount of the theft can go up rather quickly,” says Turner. “If the total amount stolen is over $300,000, then the punishment range (assuming no other prior felony convictions with prison trips) is 5-99 years or Life with the possibility of a fine up to $10,000. I’ve had land thieves sentenced to probation and others sentenced to 28 years, 40 years, etc.”

The Texas Real Estate Commission has been assisting the Texas Land Title Association in educating real estate license holders on trending fraud schemes.

The Texas Land Title Association has reported seeing more people fall victim to seller impersonators, with the prime target properties being vacant land or investment property such as vacation homes, second homes, rental properties, and any other instance where the tax mailing address is different than the property owner’s address.

According to the Texas Land Title Association, a typical scenario involves an impersonator calling a sales agent for a property to be listed below market value, so that the potential buyer thinks the purchase is a bargain, and then to lure the agent into taking the listing, the imposter might say something like:

“This is a quick sale.”

Not only are land and property owners susceptible to this type of activity, but realtors are also at risk of representing someone who is not the rightful owner to the property they are trying to sell.

“This type of fraud is terrifying because of how much it has increased and how quickly,” said David Tandy, chair of the Texas Land Title Association’s Seller Impersonation Fraud Task Force. “Until that real seller decides to do something like refinance or sell the property, they are not aware of the fraudulent transaction involving their property. And by that point, the duped buyer has lost all their money, the real estate agents have lost their commissions, and the entire transaction is void.”

Realtors can be a huge part of the solution if they know what red flags to look for and understand how important their role is. Those red flags include:

The property in question involves vacant land or an owner not living on property.
Imposter Seller wants a quick sale.
Imposter Seller wants a cash sale.
The property is listed below market value.
Imposter Seller only wants to communicate by email or text and does not want to meet in person.
Imposter Seller’s phone area code is unrecognizable or foreign.

Before listing a property, realtors should make sure the property owners are verified by getting a copy of two forms of identification, asking for a recent utility bill, and asking questions about the property that only the true owner would know.

“This just suddenly exploded. We’ve seen similar forged deed fraud in the past, but this new type of fraud is just pervasive” said Leslie Midgley, executive vice president and CEO of the Texas Land Title Association. “These criminals are highly sophisticated with their schemes and hard to detect if you aren’t vigilant. Title agents and underwriters have implemented many best practices to try and shut these transactions down, but there is much work to be done as significant losses have already occurred and the criminals seem to be increasing their efforts, not retreating.”

If you, or someone you know, are the victims of land fraud, please contact local law enforcement, report it online to the Federal Trade Commission at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/, and if you are in Harris County, reach out to the consumer fraud division at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office at 713-274-5555.

The post LAND FRAUD NIGHTMARE – IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU! appeared first on Forward Times.

The post LAND FRAUD NIGHTMARE – IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU! first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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COMMENTARY: Jim Crow 2.0 at the Pentagon

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The American people are expected to believe that one extraordinary officer after another suddenly fails to meet some undefined standard of excellence. We are expected to ignore impeccable service records while accepting that political appointees alone possess the wisdom to determine who is worthy of advancement.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 3, 2026

bpusa-syndication

Pete Hegseth insists that he is restoring “merit” to the United States military. But after months of dismissals, blocked promotions, and ideological purges, the evidence tells a different story. His campaign against so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” has become something far more dangerous: an assault on equal opportunity that falls with particular force on African Americans, while also targeting women, Latinos, gay Americans, and transgender service members.

The latest example is both troubling and infuriating.

Once again, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly blocked the promotion of an exceptionally qualified woman—Rear Admiral Amy Bauernschmidt. Bauernschmidt is no ordinary officer. She became the Navy’s first woman to command a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, one of the most demanding leadership assignments in the world. Her career reflects decades of exemplary performance, operational excellence, and leadership under extraordinary pressure.

Yet once again, a distinguished military career appears to have been subordinated to an ideological agenda masquerading as “merit.”

I call BS!

The American people are expected to believe that one extraordinary officer after another suddenly fails to meet some undefined standard of excellence. We are expected to ignore impeccable service records while accepting that political appointees alone possess the wisdom to determine who is worthy of advancement.

The pattern has become impossible to ignore.

General Charles Q. Brown Jr., only the second African American to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was dismissed despite a career that placed him among the most accomplished military leaders of his generation.

Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman ever to serve as Chief of Naval Operations, was removed despite decades of distinguished command experience.

Reports have documented interventions that blocked or delayed the promotions of Black officers and women selected through the military’s rigorous promotion system.

Now Rear Admiral Amy Bauernschmidt joins the growing list of highly accomplished officers whose careers have been derailed for reasons that have never been persuasively explained.

Where is Congress?

Its silence has become deafening.

Congress has an independent constitutional responsibility to oversee the armed forces. Instead, too many lawmakers have watched silently while one of the nation’s most respected institutions is subjected to ideological litmus tests and political interference.

This is not military reform. It is testosterone-fueled performative masculinity disguised as a philosophy of military excellence.

The irony is impossible to miss. Hegseth repeatedly invokes “merit,” yet his rhetoric begins with the assumption that Black officers, women, and other historically excluded Americans must somehow justify their achievements in ways that white male officers are rarely required to do.

That is not meritocracy. It is prejudice wrapped in patriotic language.

No one is asking that anyone be promoted because of race or gender. Americans simply expect that promotions be based on demonstrated competence, leadership, integrity, and service. The officers being targeted have already proven themselves repeatedly under one of the world’s most demanding evaluation systems.

Their records speak for themselves.

The attack on African American military leadership has been especially pernicious.

For generations, Black Americans fought in segregated units, earned decorations while denied equal treatment, and repeatedly demonstrated loyalty to a nation that often failed to extend them full citizenship. They broke barriers not because standards were lowered but because excellence finally overcame institutional discrimination.

Today’s campaign against “diversity” threatens to revive old assumptions under new slogans.

The implication that Black generals and admirals somehow owe their success to affirmative action rather than extraordinary performance echoes some of the ugliest stereotypes of the Jim Crow era. Yesterday’s segregationists claimed Black Americans were inherently less qualified. Today’s culture warriors simply employ more politically acceptable language while inviting the same suspicion about Black achievement.

That is why Hegseth’s campaign increasingly resembles Jim Crow 2.0.

The targets may now wear stars on their shoulders instead of military patches on segregated uniforms, but the underlying message is hauntingly familiar: Black excellence is presumed suspect, while white excellence is presumed earned.

America’s military became the finest fighting force in history because it opened its doors to talent wherever it could be found. It grew stronger after President Truman desegregated the armed forces. It became stronger when women assumed greater command responsibilities. It became stronger when every qualified American was given the opportunity to serve to the fullest extent of their abilities.

Diversity is not a concession. It is a strategic advantage.

The nation’s adversaries do not fear an American military because it is racially homogeneous. They fear it because it draws upon the talents of more than 340 million Americans whose diverse experiences, perspectives, and abilities make our armed forces unmatched anywhere in the world.

Every politically motivated dismissal of a distinguished officer sends a chilling message throughout the ranks: excellence alone may no longer be enough if you belong to the wrong demographic group.

That weakens morale. It weakens recruitment. It weakens retention.

And ultimately, it weakens national security.

Pete Hegseth has every right to pursue military readiness. He has no right to redefine merit in ways that repeatedly cast suspicion upon the accomplishments of Black officers, women, and others who have devoted their lives to defending this nation.

America deserves better. The men and women who wear the uniform deserve better. The Constitution deserves better.

And unless Congress finds the courage to exercise meaningful oversight, history may well remember this period not as a restoration of military excellence, but as the moment political ideology attempted to resurrect, in modern form, the old poison of exclusion.

Jim Crow did not strengthen America. Jim Crow 2.0 will not strengthen America’s military. It will only diminish it

Wade Henderson
Strategic Advisor
Civil and Human Rights
wade@wadejhenderson.com

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New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial

By Emilie St. John (Contributor) Karmelo Anthony will return to court next month in his first step to overturn his murder conviction. Anthony was found guilty last month in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison. His new legal team has filed motions seeking the recusal of State District […]
The post New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 31, 2026

Oakland Post

By Emilie St. John
(Contributor)

Karmelo Anthony will return to court next month in his first step to overturn his murder conviction.

Anthony was found guilty last month in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison. His new legal team has filed motions seeking the recusal of State District Judge John Roach Jr. from overseeing the appeals process.

Two hearings have been scheduled on the motion for Aug. 9 and 10 in the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas, according to Fox4 News.

On July 14, Senior Judge Sid L. Harle of the 226th District Court was assigned to preside over the defense’s motion to recuse Collin County Judge John Roach. The assignment took effect immediately and authorized Harle to handle all matters related to the recusal request, the filing read.

The Collin County District Attorney’s Office continues to defend its handling of the case by issuing a statement to NBC 5 DFW.

“The defendant’s new lawyers have filed a motion containing several inaccurate characterizations of the trial proceedings. The entire prosecution team and I conducted this trial ethically and in full compliance with the Court’s rulings and any agreements with defense counsel. We look forward to addressing these claims thoroughly in a Court of law in the coming weeks. The jury heard extensive evidence over the course of the trial and returned a unanimous verdict. We remain confident in that verdict and the fairness of the proceedings.”

Anthony’s new legal team, made up of appellate, civil rights, and criminal defense attorneys, was retained following Anthony’s conviction.

“Our responsibility is to determine whether a legal error occurred and to ensure that every issue supported by the record is fully and vigorously presented on appeal,” the team said in a statement.

“We recognize the profound loss suffered by one young man’s family and the uncertainty facing another, and we extend our respect to everyone whose lives have been forever changed by these events,” the release reads.

Anthony was charged with the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf during a track meet in Frisco, Texas, April 2, 2025. Anthony has long maintained it was an act of self-defense.

The attorneys are representing Anthony pro bono. The nearly 200-page notice of appeal seeks a new trial because his Sixth Amendment right to a public trial was violated.

“The cumulative and practical effect of these provisions was to exclude members of the public from proceedings at every stage,” the filing reads.

The filing also focused on an alleged “handshake deal” that kept Anthony from taking the stand in his defense.

The defense filing said the agreement was that the jury would not hear that Metcalf and his twin brother had been accused of racism and bullying in the past. In exchange, they also would not see Anthony’s cellphone records or his school disciplinary record, according to court documents reported by the Dallas Morning News.

Anthony’s former defense attorney, Mike Howard, said the defense relied heavily on that deal. The team chose not to ask certain questions of witnesses or call on a separate expert witness based on that agreement. It also abandoned plans to introduce testimony and evidence about the allegations against Metcalf and his brother.

Appellate attorney Russell Wilson is now handling post-trial proceedings and Anthony’s appeal. He recently sat down for an interview, stating, “The court committed multiple errors during the June murder trial, preventing him from receiving a fair trial.”

“You know, we file motions that we expect to prevail on, but we understand that there’s two sides to every story. And at the end of the day, it’ll be a judge that has to make these decisions, but we feel confident in the positions that we’re taking,” Wilson said during an interview with WFAA. “There were substantial issues that we thought a reviewing court needed to look at. We thought these were constitutional irregularities, and we could have them addressed now. And so, we put them into a motion for a new trial.”

Bree West, a former Dallas County Assistant District Attorney, found it startling that so little time was given to Anthony’s team for such a serious “life or death” situation.

“I do think that it’s really challenging that potentially a court decided that you have 10 minutes to make that level of decision when it has the potential of being life-altering,” said West during an interview with Fox 4 News.

Judge Harle is no stranger to high-profile cases, having presided over the prosecution of a police officer charged in connection with the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

Anthony was convicted on June 9 of the murder of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison.

The post New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump!

WESTSIDE GAZETTE — The author criticizes Donald Trump’s rhetoric, noting his use of terms like “Dumbocrats” and “Communist” to describe Democrats and democracy. The column asserts that Trump’s current strategy involves creating doubt about midterm elections due to a lack of Republican agenda.
The post COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump! appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 31, 2026

Oakland Post

Frankly Speaking

Wow! Wow! Wow! The swamp drainers have truly stepped down to new levels of stupidity. You remember Weapons of Mass Destruction? We now have Weapons of Mass Distraction. Trump has introduced Dumbocrats and Communists into the conversation about Democrats and Democracy.

Trump lies so much, and his current strategy is to set up doubt about midterm elections because he and Republicans have no agenda!

He has no “Trump “ card, but Iran has a strait! He called it a skirmish; it’s now a War. He said five days; now it’s five months. He said few casualties; now it’s 18 deaths. He knew nothing about Project 2025 but hired its architects! Trump lies about the lies and often forgets these little inventions called cameras and phones

We see and hear and then see and hear the inconsistencies.

I didn’t like 45 and dislike 47 even more!

The post LSMFT! Lord Save Me From Trump! appeared first on The Westside Gazette.

Based on reporting by Westside Gazette.

The post COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump! appeared first on BlackPressUSA.