Former city code enforcement employee accused of forging deed on Austin home

Sarah Asch, Austin American-Statesman
·2 min read
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A former employee in the city of Austin’s code enforcement department faces criminal charges after he was accused of attempting to fraudulently take ownership of an Austin home by forging an elderly woman’s signature on a deed to transfer it to himself shortly before she died.

According to an arrest affidavit, Alan Deshon Guyton faces a charge of forgery deed record, a state jail felony, and first-degree felony theft. Guyton was employed with the Austin Code Department until April 2021 and was put on administrative leave before he left his job, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit did not include any contact information for Guyton. Attempts to reach him for comment at the towing company listed in the document as his place of work were not immediately successful.

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Austin police started investigating the case in November, when the city auditor’s office contacted law enforcement after coming across a possibly forged deed filed with Travis County for a property in South Austin, according to the affidavit. The property was owned by Janet “Lynn” Sissney until she passed away on Feb. 8, 2021, according to the affidavit.

A former employee in the city of Austin’s code enforcement department faces criminal charges after he was accused of attempting to fraudulently take ownership of an Austin home by forging an elderly woman’s signature on a deed.
A former employee in the city of Austin’s code enforcement department faces criminal charges after he was accused of attempting to fraudulently take ownership of an Austin home by forging an elderly woman’s signature on a deed.

Austin police interviewed Sissney’s nephew, who said he is the rightful heir to the estate and alleged that Guyton intentionally dismissed multiple code violations on the property with the expectation that he would assume ownership with a forged signature when Sissney passed away, according to the affidavit.

Law enforcement spoke to a neighbor and friend of Sissney’s who both said her intention was to leave the house to her nephew. The neighbor also said she met Guyton in August and he told her he bought the property, and she once received a package by mistake addressed to Guyton at the property.

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The signatures on Sissney’s drivers license and social security card do not match the signature on the deed, according to the affidavit. The document also says Guyton started making tax payments on the property in August 2021, all in cash.

Law enforcement also interviewed the notary who notarized the deed, and she confirmed that the deed did not have Sissney’s signature on it when it was notarized, according to the affidavit.

City of Austin representatives declined to comment on the charges against Guyton.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Former city code enforcer accused of forging deed on South Austin home