Steal a house? No big deal unless it's a serial deed thief

TIMES HAD been tough for Billy and Barbara Richardson.

The Kensington couple, raising two young children, live paycheck-to-paycheck in a house owned by Billy's dad. But early last year, they finally managed to pay off more than $10,000 in back taxes on the home.

It was a sliver of short-lived joy. Soon they received a notice that the two-story house had been sold to A Lifrans Leswar Lanfray, a former friend who has an auto-body shop across the street.

But Billy says it wasn't sold, but rather stolen when Lanfray allegedly forged a signature to transfer its deed. Furious, Billy confronted Lanfray that wintry January day, and the cops were called a short time later.

"Can you lock him up? He stole my property!" Billy shouted. But there would be no arrest. Unlike a stolen car or stolen purse, there is rarely an arrest over a stolen house.

The Richardsons were told to contact the Police Department's Major Crimes Unit, where they were advised to speak with the District Attorney's Office. The D.A.'s office then told them to call police.

"I was just getting the runaround," said Barbara. "Nobody wants to help you."

Years after the problem drew public attention, it's still pretty easy to steal a house in Philadelphia. The worst of it, victims and advocates say, is that prosecution is rare unless the case involves a serial deed thief.

Additionally, the victims, most of whom are poor and elderly, are forced to either dish out thousands of dollars for a lawyer or attempt to navigate the civil-court system on their own - not an easy task.

"It's not fair! I shouldn't have to pay for an attorney," said Barbara Richardson, adding that her family cannot afford a lawyer. "I think the city should pay for it. [The Records Department is] not making sure the signatures match."

She's right. The Records Department does not have the power to investigate deeds. As long as a deed meets state requirements of both parties' names and signatures, a description of the property and a notary stamp, then it must be recorded, according to Records Commissioner Joan Decker.

After the deed is recorded, a notice of the transfer is sent to the old property owner. But, if someone's signature was forged or an unscrupulous notary approved a fraudulent document, it's too late: The house has been stolen.

Billy and Barbara had planned to bid farewell to the needle-littered sidewalks and gunshots of their Kensington neighborhood. But that all came to a halt when Lanfray became the new owner of the house on Willard Street near Jasper that Billy's father, Robert Richardson, had owned since 1987.

According to a deed created Aug. 12, 2011, Robert Richardson sold the property to Lanfray for $6,000 and appeared before a notary in September 2011 to have the deed notarized. The city values the house at $44,500.

Billy said his father never sold the house, nor did he appear before a notary. The notary who authenticated the deed, Leann M. Then, told a reporter, "I don't have anything to say to you at all."

Lanfray acquired two other properties last year that also raise red flags. One was on Gilham Street near Frontenac in Oxford Circle, and the other is just two doors down from the Richardsons. The deeds, dated last year, were signed by homeowners who have been dead for years, according to public records.

When the Daily News contacted Lanfray, he admitted that he hadn't bought the Richardsons' property and said the city had made a mistake.

"I'm not stealing the property. It's a mistake," Lanfray said, adding he planned to have the deed switched back.

He said he and his friend Mark Guerrier buy properties and had purchased 1920 and 1926 Willard St., not the Richardsons' property at 1924 Willard.

Lanfray said he could not explain how signatures purporting to be those of Robert Richardson and two dead people got on the deeds.

The Richardsons have given up on getting authorities involved.

Tasha Jamerson, spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office, said the Richardsons were referred to the Police Department's Major Crimes Unit. But Sgt. Joseph Cella, of Major Crimes, said there was no record of the Richardsons' complaint.

At a recent City Council budget hearing, Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross was asked why stolen-house victims get the runaround. "We just need to work more collaboratively to protect our citizens. That's just the short answer," Ross said.

District Attorney Seth Williams says his office, with a $31.5 million budget, has the smallest budget among the state's 22 largest counties. Nevertheless, he said, his office "will prosecute all cases that have prosecutorial merit."

The size of the stolen-house problem is unknown. Cella says the Major Crimes Unit gets a few dozen fraudulent-deed cases a year, but that doesn't include cases handled by the detective divisions. It also doesn't include house thefts never reported because the victims are dead. The D.A.'s Office, for its part, does not keep track of the number of house-theft cases it's prosecuted.

The D.A.'s Office this month charged Dwayne Stewart, 41, of West Philadelphia, with 52 felonies for allegedly stealing five properties. Stewart, whose actions the Daily News reported in November, had 16 complaints and several lawsuits filed against him over several years.

Earlier this year, four men, including former Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson's son, were busted for allegedly stealing and selling 22 vacant properties throughout the city.

"They certainly can prosecute any case [but] they don't prosecute unless there's a pattern and practice," said Beth Shay, staff attorney at the Senior Law Center. "I don't think they have the manpower to prosecute single cases of deed theft."

Some say that needs to change.

"We need to be proactive after the first bad deed," said City Councilman Bill Greenlee, who has sponsored proposals to address fraudulent deeds. Quicker action could mean fewer victims, he said.

One police source expressed frustration with the D.A.'s Office, saying that it's slow to prosecute cases involving just a single deed.

The source said cases are often disapproved for prosecution because the D.A.'s Office does not want to affect its conviction rate and it's harder to prove theft with just one or two incidents.

Take, for instance, the case of Sean Gilliam, 36, of West Philly, who has a lengthy rap sheet. Police received a complaint in July 2011 that Gilliam allegedly forged the signatures of two deceased homeowners on a deed attempting to transfer a two-story Wynnefield rowhouse to himself. Another deed recorded in 2010 included the signature of a homeowner who had been dead for six years.

Pamela Wood of West Philadelphia notarized each transaction. According to a draft affidavit of probable cause obtained by the Daily News, Wood confessed that none of the "true owners appeared before her and that she fraudulently notarized the documents for cash."

Wood said she received $1,000 from Gilliam for her service. Her commission was revoked last April.

Police sought charges against Gilliam and Wood in 2011, but the D.A.'s Office would not approve, the police source said. The D.A. instead asked for follow-up investigations on other complaints against Gilliam.

The case remains in limbo.

Jamerson said, "We would not comment on any case unless charges are filed."

Prosecutors admit a case is stronger with numbers.

"You have to prove intent to defraud, and the proof needed to prove intent to defraud is stronger with five or 16 cases than it is with one," said Assistant District Attorney Matthew Perks.

A criminal conviction, however, does not restore a stolen property to its rightful owner. The property owner must file a civil suit to regain his house. That can cost thousands of dollars in legal fees.

"It's a real horror how difficult we make it to get [people] their homes back," said Lance Haver, the city's consumer advocate. "We say it all of the time, 'Hire a private attorney.' Why do courts do that?"

More than a decade ago when the problem of stolen houses drew public attention, former Common Pleas President Judge Darnell Jones established a program in which a single judge handled those cases. That's no longer the case, and some say those cases are not a major priority anymore.

Stanley Thompson, director of the Complex Litigation Center, said the current process, in which property owners appear before a case manager 90 days after filing an action to quiet title, is likely more efficient. But it can still take an average of 13 months to resolve the matter.

It's unclear whether the Richardsons will be able to find a low-cost or free legal help to get them through the civil process. In the meantime, Billy warned neighbors to beware when he posted a large sign (that he later removed) stating that Lanfray stole his house and to "be careful it doesn't happen to you."

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