A couple in South Carolina recently lost their home after it was stolen and sold by thieves. The new buyers have already taken out a mortgage and are now building a house on their property.
Dr. Omar Jaraki and his wife, Halla, said they spent their life savings to purchase a plot of land outside of Boston with plans to build a house and retire there. However, the couple later found that the house was stolen when they inquired about a missing item on their quarterly tax bill.
"They stole our dream," Omar told Boston CBS affiliate WBZ. "They stole our property. They took a mortgage on it. They're building a house on it."
How Their Land Was Stolen
The Jarakis launched their own investigation and discovered that someone pretended to be Halla and contacted a local real estate agent to sell the property. It was later sold for $525,000, which is almost half what the property is actually worth.
The perpetrators also sent fraudulent documents such as scans of IDs purportedly belonging to Halla to the real estate agent. These documents were then used to close the transaction. The payment for the property was sent to a bank account and then transferred overseas.
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The entire transaction was made electronically. Neither the real estate agent nor the buyers met the perpetrators personally.
A lawyer for the couple said the real estate broker missed several red flags. The identification documents provided by the thieves, for example, did not look close to a real ID. The photos on both the passport and the driver's license provided were also the same.
The couple's lawyer also said they are now working with the FBI to investigate and catch the thieves.
How Property Fraud Happens
The Jarakis incident is a case of property fraud. These crimes happen when perpetrators use another person's personal data and forge bank statements and other documents to steal property.
Many counties in the US offer real estate owners a free monitoring service through Property Fraud Alert or Landex. Through these services, the owners will be notified through email or text if there are any changes made to public records in their name. This allows homeowners to immediately take steps if there are fraudulent activities.
