A Sandy Springs family was almost kicked out of their own home by a fraudster, yet another example of how property theft and deed fraud are a prevalent problem across the state, and one which may have stiffer penalties in the future, thanks to an Atlanta News First investigation.
“I just don’t understand how the whole thing can happen,” said Shelia Gibson. “It upsets me just to talk about it; I feel so violated.”
Real estate records show Gibson’s family bought the house in 2020 for $480,000. “Although I’m not affluent, we sacrificed a lot to buy the house,” she said. Gibson doesn’t owe rent to any landlord, according to records.
But when the 69-year-old pulled up to her driveway in December 2022, a notice was posted on her gate which read in part, “scheduled to be evicted immediately by the Fulton County Marshal’s Department.”
Magistrate court documents also show deputies tried to execute the eviction in October 2022, but were “unable to gain access to the property,” the deputy noted. Gibson’s gate leading up to her house was malfunctioning that day, and “had it not been for that gate, we could have come home, and all our possessions would have been on the street,” she said.
Metro Atlanta homeowners say their houses are being taken out from under them, without them even knowing it. An ongoing Atlanta News First investigation uncovers a pattern of deed thefts, leading to a web of real estate fraud.
For nearly a year, a series of Atlanta News First investigationsshowed how metro Atlanta homeowners’ property are being taken out from under them, without them even knowing it. Entitled Stolen Homes, the ongoing investigation uncovered a pattern of deed thefts, leading to a web of real estate fraud. It’s a crime that’s not as hard as you may think, a crime that often goes unpunished.
Under Georgia law, clerks are not allowed to ask for photo IDs when someone files a deed. Atlanta News First Investigates also discovered the lack of oversight into the notaries who are stamping the deeds. This is all happening without homeowners knowing about it … until it’s too late. Some are told their house no longer belongs to them; some are told to pay rent to the new owners; and others being evicted from their own home.
“It’s a crisis,” Fulton County Clerk Ché Alexander said during a recent community townhall.
After these Atlanta News First investigations, Georgia lawmakers approved new measures that take effect next year.
However, Atlanta News First Investigates has learned a similar, separate loophole exists when filing paperwork for evictions. No one has to prove they own the very property for which they’re seeking an eviction.
In Gibson’s case, records show Michael James Bourff filed eviction paperwork in the Fulton County Clerk’s Office claiming he was the “agent” of the Sandy Springs home and the “occupants had past due rent of $12,000.”
Bourff also filed an “application to execute writ of possession,” seeking to take the property. Bourff alleged Gibson failed to file an answer in court to the initial eviction notice. But Gibson said she was neither served with that initial eviction paperwork, nor does she owe any rent.
“It’s just so crazy how someone can walk into an office, provide no identification and no one bothers to check on the computers to make sure this person actually owns the home,” Gibson said.
The alleged fake landlord submitted all this paperwork without having to prove anything because state law does not explicitly require it when initially filing for evictions. As long as those initial documents are completely filled out, county clerks like Fulton County’s Ché Alexander must accept it.
“They e-file it. It’s an electronic process so they can do it at their kitchen table,” Alexander said. “They send it to us, and we look to see if it’s in proper form.”
Georgia clerks also cannot investigate eviction documents or interrogate anyone who’s filing them. Current law limits the clerk’s role, although much remains at stake.
“I manage all documents for Fulton County, so what you’re talking about [it’s] not paper for me,” Alexander said. “It’s people’s lives.”
The clerk confirmed she’s working with other county officials to potentially create a property fraud taskforce.
Gibson eventually got Sandy Springs police involved. Now a criminal case, police have filed the incident as a “fraud, swindle, confidence game,” according to incident reports. Bourff has been charged with perjury, filing a false document, and forgery, but has not been located or arrested.
Gibson’s attorney has filed a civil suit against the suspect; the court ruled in her favor after Bourff never responded. He has not responded to requests for comment from Atlanta News First Investigates, but he is appealing Gibson’s civil court victory.
Public records suggest Bourff may be living in Fort Pierce, Florida, with a woman named Tabitha Cote. A previous 2009 unrelated civil suit identified the pair as a “couple.”
Fulton County public documents reveal Tabitha Cote once owned Gibson’s Sandy Springs house and that Bourff also previously lived there. According to the documents, the home was foreclosed upon in 2018 and auctioned off after Cote failed to pay the mortgage loan.
At the 2018 auction, an LLC bought the home; records confirm the LLC eventually sold the home to Sheila Gibson.
In the latest court filing, Gibson’s attorney alleges Cote recently created a new deed, transferring the house’s title to a “fictitious” company she created.
All of this problematic paperwork is not only disrupting Gibson’s peace but also exposing a loophole in the law.
“It’s taken a toll,” Gibson said. “I don’t sleep well, I am anxious all the time. It’s like a criminal’s paradise if it’s this easy. This is very easy what this guy has done.”
Link: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/05/23/how-fake-landlord-nearly-evicted-an-atlanta-family/
