ONTARIO, N.Y. – “It’s abundantly evident this was a case of fraud. The level of ineptitude at every level has been amazing,” said Ron Harder, who discovered he no longer owns the piece of land on Boston Road in the town of Ontario that he’s held for over 40 years.
Harder, now living in Texas, always planned to return to the area and build a retirement home on the 8/10 of an acre property. But in May, he received a “Notice of Sale” letter in the mail from the Wayne County Clerk.
“They transferred title into the name of the new owner, who is a builder,” Harder said.
Brett Davidsen, News10NBC: “When you got that letter, what’s your reaction to that?”
Ron Harder: “(chuckles) Amazement.”
A scammer posing as Harder reached out to a local attorney, saying he wanted to put the land up for sale. The scammer provided a notarized photocopy of a driver’s license with Harder’s correct name and address, but the wrong date of birth and a photo that was not Harder.
The property was listed by Doebler Realty and after a few months, it sold to Gerber Homes for $35,000.
“Our intention was to market it for sale with a new home on it,” said John Graziose, a partner with Gerber Homes.
Graziose says lawyers are now trying to figure out how to untangle this scam.
Brett Davidsen: “Mr. Harder loses his land, but you’re also a victim here, are you not?”
John Graziose: “Yeah, we’re actually probably going to be the ultimate victim, because Mr. Harder is going to get his land back.”
Brett Davidsen: “What do you think the chances are that you recoup something from this?”
John Graziose: “I don’t think it’s very good to be honest.”
According to investigators, the $35,000 was wired to the United Kingdom. Interestingly, Harder says someone tried the exact same scam last fall, but in that case, the realtor called him in Texas to verify his ID and thwarted the fraud.
Deputy Wayne County Clerk Michele Burgess says attempts at title theft are on the rise. “It’s almost always vacant land, out of state owner, out of town owner, just somebody that is absent from the property, so it’s an easy target.”
The county is in the process of installing software to help flag suspicious filings. “What that will do is, the homeowner or property owner can sign up and once any document is recorded under their name, they will receive an email simultaneously,” Burgess explained. Had it been in place in May, Harder could have possibly notified authorities before the money was transferred and the deed was recorded.
Now, it will take a court order to reverse the sale.
Brett Davidsen: “Does it surprise you how easy this was to do?”
Ron Harder: “Very much so.”
News10NBC reached out to the attorney and realtor who represented the fake seller to find out what efforts, if any, they made to verify the identity of the person claiming to be Harder. Neither returned the calls. As for the deed to the property, right now it remains in the name of Gerber Homes and the company is hoping one of the parties has an insurance policy to cover the $35,000 it lost.
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