From: Madelyn Felix 

Subject: Fake Mortgages and House Theft Becoming Commonplace? New Story

Date: Aug 18, 2023 at 2:51 PM

To: investigates @cbsnews.com

Dear Investigator,

 

My property in Cleveland, OH was in the process of being sold when I discovered a $98,000 fraudulent mortgage lien against the property after reviewing title work in preparation of the sale.  No notice was sent to me and I only found out about it from title work in May of this year-just two weeks before our scheduled closing date.

 

The fake mortgage was only notarized by the supposed lender in New Jersey and the named LLC lender was formed in Wyoming, but the actual filer lives in San Diego, CA.  Even better, the LLC wasn't formed until May 15th in Wyoming and the New Jersey notary notarized the lender's signature on May 8th for an LLC that didn't exist yet.  Clearly, the notary didn't even verify the signer had signing authority for the LLC, as it didn't exist to verify.  The supposed lender even began to sign my name on the notary's log, then crossed it out and signed their name.  (see attached)

 

Why even have notaries?

 

County recorders say they record any document as long as it has any signature notarized and is an original document.  The notary claimed they just notarize, and they do not review documents for validity.  No one reviews the documents they notarize or record for legal purpose, but these documents involve amounts of money or property that are life changing.  

 

My signature was forged and the document causing a $98,000 lien was mailed to Cuyahoga County, where it was recorded as a lien of record without any notice.  

 

Law enforcement did NOTHING to help because each state  jurisdiction claimed it was out of their jurisdiction (unable to determine where the crime actually committed-they say).  The matter was escalated to the financial crimes unit of the FBI via an online tip, but no one has responded.  The Ohio Attorney General never responded either. 

 

I've shelled out thousands in attorney fees and the matter just kept getting bounced around from state to federal court and I have yet to even be heard after over three months.  

 

Consumer Affairs told me this is the new "cyber crime" and  house thefts are common right now.  But no one is changing anything to make it more difficult to do this to people!  

 

What if I didn't have any money for an attorney or couldn't find the person behind the business entity?  They just get to foreclose and keep your house?

 

I've found several other victims of house theft and fake mortgages that have faced the same thing. The stories are tragic!  Buying a home is the biggest investment that most of us make in our entire lives.  

 

Buying and selling houses was how I made my living as a single parent and I believed that real estate was a safe investment because I could control it, and because I felt that I was protected by property rights, but this IS NOT the case.  Anyone can file a mortgage or a quitclaim deed and either steal your house with foreclosure or by a simple deed transfer.  It's easy and costs less than $100 to do.  

 

I was also a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Colorado for twenty-three years and sold all of my clients over the years on real estate as a safer and tangible investment.  That was what I believed.  I've recently relinquished my real estate license because I can no longer sell something that I know can be stolen with no recourse to the criminals behind the fraudulent documents.  How can you sell something that you don't believe in?

 

I finally received a mortgage release in the mail two weeks ago, but only after finding the person responsible and having them served in court.  He did not intend to be found and I was lucky to find him, but how many people are out there fighting a ghost to recover their life savings?  

 

How many families are in foreclosure right now and have no idea?  You can set up an alert for the counties to notify you when a lien is filed against your property, but you can only react sooner with the alert-it isn't prevented.  There is no protection to prevent a fraudulent mortgage lien or a deed transfer.  

 

This is a threat to an already weakening economy and many hard working families. 

 

I'd like to shout from the rooftops about the problem to promote change and to ask for more layers of protection in the lien or deed filing process to protect other people.  I went to the hospital twice with chest pains over this and my family has suffered.  I struggled being present for my nine year old daughter all summer because I thought we could lose our house (and most of our savings with it).  I have no help, no safety net.  I worked hard for EVERYTHING we have.  

 

Consumer Affairs suggested that it was a possibility that we may even lose the house on one phone call, as they've seen this in other cases.  The Consumer Affairs conversation caused my second trip to the hospital with chest pains.  My daughter is lucky to have me and that I was able to figure out ways to bring my blood pressure down with meditation and my faith.  

 

If you were to help me in my mission by investigating and publishing a story, I can help with interviews with other victims as well, and we can make a difference together.  I think we can achieve the kind of change that prevents this from happening to anyone else.  

 

The house thief even has lawyers lying in court for him saying that the liens are valid!  I have proof of that as well.