Date: 03/24/2024 – By: Jack Money, The Oklahoman
It is just a modest house built 70 years ago in a neighborhood on the southwest side of Oklahoma City.
But to its owner, the 600-square-foot home is filled with priceless memories.
And were it not for a chance visit to the house where she was raised on SW 49 near Independence Avenue, Saina Monhatwa says she might have lost those memories forever.
Unbeknownst to her and her family’s attorney, another Oklahoma City woman had filed a quitclaim deed on the property Feb. 23, declaring that Saina’s grandfather, Harvey James Monhatwa, had agreed to sell the little house to her boyfriend for $5,000.
Until November 2023 when she died, Saina’s mother had lived inside the home — painted gray, trimmed in white and dressed up with red shutters and stars.
Saina’s grandfather, meanwhile, had passed away just a month before that, county records show.
“I pulled up to the house in January, and this lady was there, trying to claim it was her house,” Saina said during a news conference Thursday held inside the county clerk’s office.
“She was breaking in, claiming it was her home, when we hadn’t even had a chance to go through my mother’s stuff,” Saina said.
After overcoming what had to have been a shock, Saina reviewed paperwork her grandfather previously had filed with Oklahoma County’s clerk in September 2023.
Then, Harvey J. Monhatwa had moved the home’s ownership from himself as an individual to a revocable trust he had created for his family.
The alleged fraudster didn’t realize the home’s ownership had been transferred to a trust.
“I just wanted to make people aware it could happen to them and to do something about it,” Saina said.
The Oklahoman is not naming the woman who attempted to illegally obtain the home because she has not been officially charged.
But her appearance at the property prompted Saina’s family to notify the Oklahoma County assessor, saying they believed a fraudulent deed had been filed.
After viewing Monhatwa’s September filing and checking with his attorney, the county corrected the property’s ownership information.
In turn, that prompted the woman who filed the fraudulent deed to contact the assessor’s office as well, asking why her name had been removed from the property’s ownership record.
She was told it had been changed because her first deed transfer was not correct, and that she would need to file an amended one. The assessor’s office notified the Oklahoma County clerk’s office that she probably would appear there to do so.
When the woman showed up with an amended deed transfer, Oklahoma County sheriff’s office deputies were summoned.
While questioning the woman, deputies reviewed copies of the woman’s February deed transfer and the amended one she had brought with her and the deed transfer Monhatwa had filed the previous September that placed the home into his trust.
Deputies noticed Monhatwa’s signatures didn’t match. The woman was arrested.
The woman told the deputies during questioning that Monhatwa had agreed to sell the home to her boyfriend, who she said had done some work for the man. The alleged sale price? Just $5,000.
The assessor’s office estimated the home’s 2024 market value at $66,500.
Oklahoma County Clerk Maressa Treat said Thursday that property thefts obtained through title changes are a national problem that also is being seen in Oklahoma County.
Through training efforts involving her office, the assessor and sheriff, they are working to identify and stop unauthorized people from obtaining property ownerships illegally, Treat said.
But Treat and other Oklahoma County officials on Thursday also used Saina’s experience to remind property owners they can minimize the threat posed by title stealers by using a free notification program offered by the county that alerts them when something like that happens.
A registered user is alerted whenever a document related to a specific property he or she designates with the account is filed at the Oklahoma County clerk’s office.
A user whose property is filed upon is notified with either an email, text message or phone call whenever that happens.
If the filing was not initiated by the user, he or she is encouraged to email property.alert@oklahomacounty.org to obtain more information.
But to its owner, the 600-square-foot home is filled with priceless memories.
And were it not for a chance visit to the house where she was raised on SW 49 near Independence Avenue, Saina Monhatwa says she might have lost those memories forever.
Unbeknownst to her and her family’s attorney, another Oklahoma City woman had filed a quitclaim deed on the property Feb. 23, declaring that Saina’s grandfather, Harvey James Monhatwa, had agreed to sell the little house to her boyfriend for $5,000.
Until November 2023 when she died, Saina’s mother had lived inside the home — painted gray, trimmed in white and dressed up with red shutters and stars.
Saina’s grandfather, meanwhile, had passed away just a month before that, county records show.
“I pulled up to the house in January, and this lady was there, trying to claim it was her house,” Saina said during a news conference Thursday held inside the county clerk’s office.
“She was breaking in, claiming it was her home, when we hadn’t even had a chance to go through my mother’s stuff,” Saina said.
After overcoming what had to have been a shock, Saina reviewed paperwork her grandfather previously had filed with Oklahoma County’s clerk in September 2023.
Then, Harvey J. Monhatwa had moved the home’s ownership from himself as an individual to a revocable trust he had created for his family.
The alleged fraudster didn’t realize the home’s ownership had been transferred to a trust.
“I just wanted to make people aware it could happen to them and to do something about it,” Saina said.
Earlier ownership change catches officials’ attention
The Oklahoman is not naming the woman who attempted to illegally obtain the home because she has not been officially charged.
But her appearance at the property prompted Saina’s family to notify the Oklahoma County assessor, saying they believed a fraudulent deed had been filed.
After viewing Monhatwa’s September filing and checking with his attorney, the county corrected the property’s ownership information.
In turn, that prompted the woman who filed the fraudulent deed to contact the assessor’s office as well, asking why her name had been removed from the property’s ownership record.
She was told it had been changed because her first deed transfer was not correct, and that she would need to file an amended one. The assessor’s office notified the Oklahoma County clerk’s office that she probably would appear there to do so.
When the woman showed up with an amended deed transfer, Oklahoma County sheriff’s office deputies were summoned.
While questioning the woman, deputies reviewed copies of the woman’s February deed transfer and the amended one she had brought with her and the deed transfer Monhatwa had filed the previous September that placed the home into his trust.
Deputies noticed Monhatwa’s signatures didn’t match. The woman was arrested.
The woman told the deputies during questioning that Monhatwa had agreed to sell the home to her boyfriend, who she said had done some work for the man. The alleged sale price? Just $5,000.
The assessor’s office estimated the home’s 2024 market value at $66,500.
Can Oklahoma County property owners protect themselves? Alert program helps
Oklahoma County Clerk Maressa Treat said Thursday that property thefts obtained through title changes are a national problem that also is being seen in Oklahoma County.
Through training efforts involving her office, the assessor and sheriff, they are working to identify and stop unauthorized people from obtaining property ownerships illegally, Treat said.
But Treat and other Oklahoma County officials on Thursday also used Saina’s experience to remind property owners they can minimize the threat posed by title stealers by using a free notification program offered by the county that alerts them when something like that happens.
A registered user is alerted whenever a document related to a specific property he or she designates with the account is filed at the Oklahoma County clerk’s office.
A user whose property is filed upon is notified with either an email, text message or phone call whenever that happens.
If the filing was not initiated by the user, he or she is encouraged to email property.alert@oklahomacounty.org to obtain more information.
Read the entire article at the following website link:
Someone tried to steal a house? OKC family home nearly taken through fraudulent records
How a Moat Title Security Can Help?
This article details some common themes in title fraud including targeting properties that have no liens or mortgages. The fraudulent activity is often the same, forge and record a deed into the criminal’s name (or an identity that the criminal has previously stolen) and either mortgage or resell the property. In this case, the fraudster listed and sold the properties at below market prices. Interestingly, the authorities suggested periodically checking your property in the public records to affirm that the property is in your name, much like checking your credit.
So, what would a Moat Title Security Co. Notice of Title Freeze (NOTF) do in this situation? If a NOTF was placed in the public records for each of the properties that were attacked in this article, a) the fraudster, in his search for properties without existing liens and mortgages, and upon seeing the NOTF in the records, would likely have been deterred from making the attack in the first place and would have simply targeted another property without a NOTF, and b) if the fraudster attacked the properties with a NOTF in the public records the legitimate owners would be in a much stronger position to more quickly and with less cost repair and restore their title in a Quiet Title action given the NOTF was not released of record prior to recording the fraudulent deed. Finally, it is likely that the closings of the resales would have failed as well as the title company conducting the closing would have searched and reviewed the title chain leading up to the fraudulent resale and discovered the recorded NOTF had not been properly released by the prior (legitimate) owner.
A NOTF is similar to a credit freeze at the credit agencies – it is designed to freeze a property title from all future recordings without the owners express and recorded consent which is described in the NOTF and performed by the owner as a Title Unfreeze and Release to allow legitimate business transactions to occur. Much like unfreezing your credit if you are in need of a new credit card or loan.
Learn more about title fraud and Moat Title Security Co’s Notice of Title Freeze at moattitlesecurity.com and follow Moat Title Security Co. on Facebook.
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