One Scammer who targeted the wealthiest neighborhoods in Dallas stole multi-million-dollar homes, an abandoned Walmart, a Krispy Kreme, and a Burger King.
Thieves have been attempting to steal homes across the country using fraudulent documents, similar to how a scammer unsuccessfully tried to steal Graceland residence from the family of Elvis Presley.
The alleged scammer behind the attempt to steal Graceland from the Presley family has spoken out. An email he sent to Inside Edition declares, “We’ve stolen millions from you blind fool Americans. We sit back and laugh at you idiots. Come and find us in Nigeria.”
Last week, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, actress Riley Keough, foiled the attempt to steal Graceland when a judge threw out the claims.
It turns out other efforts have been made to steal buildings from their owners by forging deeds and filing them with a country clerk.
“The brazenness of it, the sheer volume it, is really, really shocking,” Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Phillip Clark tells Inside Edition.
A scammer tried to steal Petco Park, home of Major League Baseball team San Diego Padres.
In another incident, 48-year-old Mickey Barreto has pled not guilty after being indicted in February for allegedly trying to get possession of the New Yorker Hotel.
Another scammer targeted Halle Berry’s Los Angeles home and tried to have the locks changed.
In Dallas, 24-year-old Arnoldo Ortiz targeted some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city. Several of the homes were multi-million-dollar properties.
Clark says Ortiz’s case was among the most shocking cases he had ever seen.
“Ortiz files this fraudulent deed, takes it to the Marshals, says ‘I own this property now, kick those people out,’ the Marshals have to do that. They go to the door, they say, ‘You have three days to move out you're being evicted,’” Clark says.
Ortiz stole an abandoned Walmart, a Krispy Kreme, and a Burger King.
“I don’t want to broadcast to the world how easy it is to commit [the scam]. On the other hand, the only way we’re going to fix it is if people understand this,” Clark says.
