Two Metro Detroit women will spend years in federal prison after being convicted of stealing properties from Detroiters facing potential tax foreclosure.
According to federal prosecutors, Zina Thomas and Jontae Jackson, stole around 100 properties in Detroit worth an estimated $6.4 million.
Thomas was serving as the Director of Homeownership Programs for the United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC) when she conspired with and paid bribes to Jackson, who worked as a taxpayer assistant with the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office, in order to steal the properties.
Federal officials said the two women used fraudulent deeds to take control of the properties and then sell them. Thomas was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison and Jackson was sentenced to 66 months.
“They were stealing the homes of the least fortunate, who couldn’t afford them, and went to this organization for help. And the individuals partnered together to steal the home to enrich their own pocketbooks. It was just a very tragic event,” Wayne County Register of Deeds Bernard J. Youngblood said.
--> Previous coverage: Ex-county employee, nonprofit director sentenced in bribery scheme to defraud low-income Detroiters
What is deed fraud?
Deed fraud is when somebody forges the rightful owner’s name on records and files those documents with the county.
Fraudsters often target properties that look abandoned. Properties with disheveled lawns, mail piled up, flyers on the porch. But they can target any home.
A victim might not know their home has been stolen until someone is knocking on their door to evict them.
“It’s a growing crime wave, and it started here, it appears, and has transferred across the country. Hopefully with our recent sentences, we’re going to be getting to the end of it as well. Because people are now, the fraudsters, are getting good prison time to reflect upon what they did and how it’s hurt people,” Youngblood said.
The process to get your home back isn’t cheap. Youngblood said it can cost anywhere from $20 thousand to $80 thousand in attorney fees.
How can you protect your property?
The best way to protect your property is to sign up for an alert program with the county your property is owned in.