Fraudulent quitclaim deed buys Athens man's $1 million home for $10

An Athens businessman was shocked recently when he checked on the tax statement for his home worth more than $1 million.

The home was no longer in his name.

A quitclaim deed was on file at the county courthouse showing his home now belonged to a person named Mary Anthony.

“The deed stated he agreed to sign over his property to Anthony for $10,” according to the Athens-Clarke police report, which the man filed on Aug. 10.

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The 72-year-old told the Banner-Herald on Wednesday that this shocking turn occurred when he called the tax accessor’s office to inquire why he had not received his tax statement.

“She said, ‘You quitclaimed the deed in September of 2022,' and I said, ‘No I didn’t,’’ he recalled.

“I went down and sure enough someone had forged my signature. They botched it a little bit,” he said, adding it didn't look anything like his real signature.

A quitclaim requires no title examination, something that scammers can exploit due to the simplicity of a quitclaim deed, according to the website Deeds.com.

“A scammer can sell the property without a warranty, rent it out to unsuspecting tenants, or obtain a loan on its value,” according to Deeds.com.

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The quitclaim has become another fraudulent activity in the U.S. that targets unsuspecting victims.

“I put in an affidavit showing this is fraudulent. Legally, I’ve got to do this but somehow the city has got be more aware,” the Athens man said, noting how preposterous it is to think he would give away his house for $10.

While he has been unable to get any leads on the identity of the mysterious Mary Anthony, he said the deed was notarized by a notary public.

This led him to call the Clayton County Notary Public office as he attempted to track down the notary in that county.

“I know the particulars of the notary public,” he said, adding there should be a driver’s license on file and addresses provided during the notary process unless the notary was part of the fraud.

In Georgia, a notary must live in the county where they receive their commission, but they can notarize documents in any county, according to the Georgia Superior Court Clerk’s Cooperative Authority.

“It’s serious. You don’t know how these people can come and do something that is well out of the ordinary,” the victim said, adding that officials locally should have seen some “red flags” in the property transfer.

As for the scammers next move, it is guesswork as for their intentions.

“I think their plan was to mortgage the house, but they would have to do a title search, gone to Merrill Lynch, gotten some appraisals, but that’s never happened,” he said.

Athens-Clarke police Lt. Jody Thompson said quitclaim scams have happened before in Athens.

“I don’t recall us ever being able to prosecute anyone because we haven’t been able to find them,” he said about the scammers.

While quitclaim deeds show up in fraudulent real estate matters, some clerk of courts offices in the state are now offering a way a property owner can keep up with any transactions filed on their real estate holdings.

The service is also offered at the Athens-Clarke County Clerk of Court in conjunction with the Georgia Superior Court Clerk’s Cooperative Authority.

The program, Filing Activity Notification Systems, or FANS, is free and a voluntary program. It is designed to send an electronic notification to the person regarding any filing activity on their property.

The victim in this case said he has signed up for the program.

Information on the program is available at the clerk’s cooperative at 1-800-304-5174 or go to https://fans.gsccca.org/

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Quitclaim deed fraud victimizes Athens man's home, $1 million home sold for $10