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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 15, 2013 11:46 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Kevin J. Boyle |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Fight “Home Theft” – Making it a Crime to use False or Forge Documents for Real Property |
| In the near future, I will be introducing legislation that would amend Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) to clarify and increase the penalties for filing false or forged documents in real estate transactions. This bill will give prosecutors additionally weapons in fighting “home theft,” the crime of using real estate documents to steal a house or in a fraudulent sale. Real estate fraud caused by forged deeds is a growing and real problem across the state and often preys on the elderly and the poor. The crime is perpetrated in this way: a notary accepts cash to certify a forged deed, the deed as notarized is taken by an accomplice the city recorder's office, the deed is recorded, and the property title is then transferred to a new bogus owner. Recently a notary in Philadelphia pled guilty to 23 counts of forgery in connection with stolen houses. Between 2000 and 2008, Philadelphia had received 454 reports of suspected land fraud. In 2012, the Philadelphia Commissioner of Records, Joan Decker, received 24 reports of suspected land fraud. By increasing penalties for such actions my hope is to further discourage its incidence. By giving our law enforcement officials additional tools, we can combat these devious acts. Please join me in working towards eradicating this crime. |
Introduced as HB1118