HOUSTON – Harris County has filed a lawsuit against two men accused of counterfeiting property deeds in the Trinity Gardens area and selling properties to unsuspecting buyers, Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee announced.
According to the lawsuit, Travious West, with the assistance of his accomplice, Wilson Sereal, fabricated documents and forged signatures to create the impression that he owned properties that actually belonged to others.
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West then reportedly filed these fake deeds with the county and sold some of the properties to innocent buyers who had no idea the sales were fraudulent.
READ: 2 Helps You: How Greater Houston area homeowners can protect their home from deed theft
“In the last few months, we’ve taken legal action in several similar cases. Let me be clear: this type of scheme that steals homes from their rightful owners has no place in Harris County. We will continue to do what it takes to show that we will not tolerate taking advantage of residents here,” said County Attorney Menefee. “My office is taking strong action to stop these individuals from continuing to create fake documents, mess up property records, and trick buyers who thought they were making real purchases.”
During the investigation, the county reportedly found that the perpetrators often targeted properties belonging to people who had died. Many times, family members didn’t know they had inherited the property, according to the lawsuit.
In one case, West allegedly created a fake deed just two days after the real owner passed away.
The county is looking to stop these activities and is seeking penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation, or up to $250,000 in cases involving elderly victims. The lawsuit also aims to cancel the fraudulent property transfers and return homes to their rightful owners where possible.
Anyone who may be a victim of a similar property fraud scheme is being asked to call the Harris County Attorney’s Office by filing a report at ScamFreeHC.com.