Today, the national dialogue is centered on health care reform.  It seems that as we get older, our health becomes a prominent topic of discussion.

Speak to anyone battling a debilitating medical condition and they’ll share their experience with you in hopes of conveying the moral of their story: Don’t take your health for granted.

As if the cost of medicine, doctor care and hospital stays aren’t enough to be concerned about, seniors have to also be vigilant protecting the place they call home.  Often the last place of refuge for our senior citizens.

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House Theft isn’t new.  It’s a crime that knows no racial, economic or neighborhood boundaries.  Real Estate is attractive to the criminally inclined.

In a City that still employs a fundamentally flawed deed recording process, it’s a miracle that there aren’t more victims of this heinous crime that’s intentionally perpetrated on the weak and elderly.

Margaret Franklin happens to be one of many victims that have had their homes stolen.  What’s painful about this story is that Margaret was hospitalized and dying of cancer when she was targeted.

On July 12th 1979…

Margaret Franklin purchased 39 Herkimer Street from Millicent Hinds.  She managed to purchase this property with the assistance of owner financing, a common financing option in Bedford Stuyvesant due to years of red lining by lenders.

On July 6th 1987, she managed to pay off her mortgage and own her property free and clear 8 years later.

Her homeowner experience appeared to become difficult over time as  she found herself behind in property taxes.  This resulted in a Tax Lien Certificate sale on June 28th 2001.

Without knowing the personal narrative, it’s easy to conclude that her health was becoming a strain on her finances.

Cancer treatments are extremely expensive.   Depending on the diagnosis, it’s easy to see how someones life savings could be wiped out in a matter of months.

How Did She Come To Their Attention

Tax Lien Notices published in daily newspapers.  They’re the public service announcement for the criminally inclined.

Whenever these auctions are announced in the newspapers, they publish the block, lot, property address and amount the property owner is delinquent in taxes.

Individuals scouring the list published annually look for the following to identify their targets:

1. Large amounts owed to the City
2. Few delinquencies occurring around the subject property
3. Individual ownership
4. Year purchased

The first 2 items are easy to ascertain from the list.  The last 2 requires research and the Internet puts it right at their finger tips.

Item 4 is important because it allows the individual to allege the age of the target.

In Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, where 39 Herkimer Street is located, house theft is an all too common occurence.  And happens to be one of the favorite neighborhoods targeted, including;

1. Bushwick
2. Crown Heights
3. East New York
4. Ocean Hill
5. Cypress Hills, and
6. Stuyvesant Heights

If you can access the internet, type with 2 fingers, compose an email message and dial a phone number, then you have all the skills needed to research for individuals to target.

I won’t go into how a criminal implements technique to qualify their target prospects.  Suffice it to say, it’s easier than you think.  We certainly don’t want to aid any aspiring con artists in improving their skills at fraud.

Homeowners aren’t the Only Victim of House Theft

Painfully, the primary victim, the homeowner, experiences the loss of their home emotionally, psychologically and financially.  The elderly feel it even more as they fight to maintain independence and avoid becoming burdens to their families.

However, the list of victims to house theft may surprise you;

Lenders; they often finance fraudulent purchases by relying on the due diligence of the Appraiser, Title Agent, Attorney and Title Closer.

Heirs; they often have to fight to re-capture their family’s legacy from fraudulent conveyance.  The legal costs can make it prohibitive and often results in families giving up.

Homeowners; the recording of a fraudulent sale creates artificial value to homes in the immediate area.  When the sale is reversed it results in lower values.

Home Buyers; the false sense of value offered in an appraisal report that includes a home fraudulently conveyed can often lead to buyers over paying for a home in the same neighborhood.  This will result in a loss in equity and easily delay plans in using a homes value to fund a child’s college education, start a business or prepare for retirement.

Taxpayers; unfortunately, we’ll all share in the cost of a home fraudulent conveyed in 3 ways;

1. Inflated Property Values raise the tax based value of all properties similar to the one fraudulently conveyed and may contribute to inaccurate property tax assessments.

2. Cost of City Services to protect the property and provide housing to the tenants who leased from parties claiming to be the rightful owners.  Section 8 recipients are the easiest prey.  Subsidies paid to landlords can be wired into the landlord’s bank account.

3. Higher Interest Rates for homeowners when refinancing their homes in a given neighborhood.  Red lining still goes on regardless of what’s stated publicly.  The predatory loan scandals are proof that it only changed the way it’s done.  At some point it will take on a different appearance.

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On December 28th 2006, Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes announced the indictment of the three men charged with stealing Margaret Franklin’s home.

In a press release,

The indictment  charges that in September 2004, Nathan Farkas and Russell Pitt sold the home to Winston Roche.  However, Winston Roche was involved in the criminal conspiracy, and he and other defendants divided the $476,000 mortgage proceeds.

A fourth defendant, Jerry Brauner, was charged with falsifying a notary public renewal application.  He notarized the Power of Attorney used by Russell Pitt to sell the property to Winston Roche.

Here is the title report that demonstrates the ease in which low level criminals engineered the heist.

Welcome to Bank Robbery in the 21st century, no guns or ski masks needed.

You’ve probably noted one other item appearing at the top of the title report.

New York City sells another Tax Lien Certificate on June 26th 2008 for delinquent property taxes owed.

If only NYC’s Department of Finance could be as diligent in reforming the deed recording process as it is in collecting revenue, your loved ones might never experience what Margaret Franklin did.

Speaking of Margaret Franklin, I wonder what she might have felt knowing they finally caught, tried and convicted the individuals responsible for stealing her home.

Unfortunately, she’ll never know the satisfaction of her perpetrators being bought to justice.

She died in 2005.

36th NYC Council District, 39 Herkimer Street, Argent Mortgages LLC, Bedford Stuyvesant, Charles Hynes, Fraudulent Conveyance, House Theft, Kings County District Attorney, Margaret Franklin, NYC Tax Lien Sale