The TREIA Board asked me to write this article to voice TREIA’s opposition to a real estate scam that is currently being perpetrated in Wake County.  According to an ABC news story that was broadcast on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 a group operating under the name of Natural International Land Trust, and including Nathaniel John Church, Shawn Andrian Pendergraft and Malandie Terrell Winston (the “Fraudsters”) are deeding properties into their names or the name of the Natural International Land Trust without any right to do so.  They usually choose bank owned properties.

I performed a title search on the Fraudsters and it appears that they are recording deeds and deeds of trust to each other and the Land Trust.  This means that they are not in the chain of title and will not show up in a general title search of the properties.   They have not forged any deed that would place them in the chain of title.  They are just sort of “squatting” on title.  The Fraudsters have been able to “title squat” because the Register of Deeds has neither the duty nor the authority to determine whether the documents they are recording are valid, just that they are in the proper form.

Their goals are not immediately clear.  Similar groups have appeared throughout the country in the past and often just try to cloud title enough to trigger a small payment for removing the clouds.  The ABC broadcast did indicate that a physical squatter had shown up in one of the five properties in the news cast, but it was not clear whether the actual squatter was related to the title squatters.   It is clear that the Fraudsters appear to be committing both criminal and civil fraud.  I have been advised that the FBI has a Mortgage Fraud section in Charlotte that investigates claims like these.

Dishonest actions like these hurt all real estate investors in that they perpetuate an image that investors are operating on the fringes of the law and making money by taking advantage of other peoples misfortune.  We all know in any field there are both good and bad actors, but by and large real estate investors are honest and realize their greatest returns when everyone in a transaction wins.

The TREIA Board has stated that if they had found that these individuals were members of TREIA, their membership would have been revoked.  TREIA is an organization devoted to education and advocacy, and has no place for unethical, immoral or illegal behavior.

See more posts by Norm Praet in the Attorney’s Corner!

The information you obtain in this article is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.

Norm Praet is an experienced real estate and business attorney who serves the Triangle and surrounding regions. He is a member of TREIA, the Wake County Apartment Association, and sits on the Government Affairs Committee of the Triangle Apartment Association. Mr. Praet is a member of the Praet Law Firm, PLLC and can be reached at (919) 627-7261 or npraet@praetlaw.com