http://www.ocregister.com/news/-245178--.html?cb=1271924706

OK, on the surface this appears to be just another story of deed fraud. However, I talked with someone with knowledge of this investigation, and this one has a new approach.

The fraudster is trying to claim his actions are at most legitimate, and at least out of reach from prosecution, based on:

1. He is only transferring a quit claim deed, which does not warranty that any rights are owned by the grantor. Therefore, he is claiming the deed itself is not a fraud.

2. He claims that the pending foreclosure is invalid because the creditor cannot produce the note, or only has a defective assignment.

3. His position is that the lender cannot claim ownership, and he has a quit claim deed to himself, so he has the right to rent the property to others and collect the rent.

Now, at some point his scheme falls apart because the borrower on the mortgage still has property rights.  I think that his taking money from tenants on the amounts to theft by deception or larceny, but so far his legal logic has held off the cops for now. Even some of the tenants are still on board.