Houston artist loses property in a real estate forgery scheme now being invested by county attorney

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston artist's attempt to sell a property he owns has generated a sprawling investigation of possible real estate fraud involving several dozen properties.

It all began in January when metal artisan Mike Scranton decided to sell a half-acre lot he had owned on Elkhart Street for 15 years. He called realtor Tracy Brandon of Boulevard Realty to list the property, but when she began gathering the real estate documents, she discovered he no longer owned land.

"Tracy called and said someone filed forged documents online and took my property," said a shocked Scranton, who had planned to build a metalworking studio on the property. "Damn. That ain't right!"

As Brandon dug deeper into the real estate records, she discovered a shocking series of events. She says several forged real estate documents, including a fake warranty deed, shifted the property from under Scranton's ownership without him even realizing it.

Brandon says the paper trail led her to a woman named Alba Martinez.

"She forged documents, forged my client's signature on them, forged notary stamps, and filed them with the county," Brandon said.

In addition, real estate records show Martinez owns at least a dozen properties in the area. ABC13 went looking for Martinez at several of the homes.

Some locations were merely empty lots parked with cars and trailers. At one house just a few blocks from Scranton's lot, a man quickly walked away when ABC13 tried to introduce themselves.

Meanwhile, the Houston Police Department confirms that a police report on the matter has been filed.

The Harris County Attorney's Office is also looking into the series of real estate transactions on the civil side.

"We started investigating, and we have since learned of potentially 25 deed transfers, all of which look highly suspicious," Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said. "People in our community should not worry that a house they have purchased or inherited can be stolen from under them with a stroke of a pen. So, we're looking at taking legal action, and if we can, we certainly will."

Menefee says state laws must change to make it more difficult for people to forge documents and file them with the County Clerk's office. For example, he would like notarizations in the county building, so a third person would have to witness the transaction.

"It's obviously a big problem, and it needs to be taken care of," says Scranton, who remains optimistic that the property can be returned to him.

Dennis McQueen of Pagel, Davis, Hill, P.C. has filed a civil suit against Martinez and one other person in an effort to get Scranton's property back.

It's unknown if any other previous property owners know they may have also lost their property. That is a key point the County Attorney's Office is investigating.

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