New Florida law attempts to curb home title fraud

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Homes across Florida are being stolen, many without the knowledge of the homeowner.

Criminals are committing fraud by changing property titles, even if someone already lives in the home. A recent LexisNexis study found mortgage scams were up 51% last year.

Matt Cox served 12 years in federal prison after he stole titles and used fake identities to take mortgages on property in Florida and other states. He stole tens of millions of dollars from more than 100 victims.

“I knew nobody was going to be notified and I knew that was difficult to find me after the crime had occurred,” Cox said. “I believe the FBI said it’s one of the fastest-growing property crimes out there.”

Florida politics:

Counties in Florida are trying to prevent this crime by offering a title alert program.

“Hopefully this will encourage even more people to sign up for these owner alerts in order for us to combat fraud,” Florida Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, (D) Parkland, said.

Hunschofsky said this new law is all about protecting consumers.

“We want to make sure you’re protected, to make sure nothing is happening to your property or title that could take away property from you,” Hunschofsky said.

Lawmakers considered other proposals to fight title fraud, but they died during the last legislative session. Cox said more needs to be done to prevent the crime.

“You being notified allows you to notify law enforcement and they can look for me. But even if they find me they are not going to fix the title to your home,” Cox said.

It’s hard to track title fraud because often criminals are charged with other crimes like mortgage fraud.

Residents can contact their local property appraiser to check if they have a monitoring service that notifies people of any changes to their home title.

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