Raleigh man believes woman filed fraudulent deed on his home to squat there, slow eviction process

The owner of a high-end Raleigh home says a woman he's never met filed legal documents claiming she owns his house. WRAL News on Thursday spoke to a man who claims to represent the woman.

Dr. Craig Adams, a local dentist, recently listed his Raleigh home for sale.

Shortly after, he said someone else filed paperwork with the Wake County Register of Deeds and tried to take over the home.

"[I've] never met this woman in my entire life, [a] total stranger," Adams said when 5 On Your Side asked if he'd ever met the woman who filed the paperwork. "Something like this makes you feel violated, vulnerable, frightened."

The name listed on the fraudulent deed is Dawn Mangum. 5 On Your Side called her multiple times trying to give her a chance to share her side of what happened. A man named Musa Bey answered, claiming to be Mangum's "attorney in-fact."

When 5 On Your Side asked for a statement, Bey's response was "what is the name of the law that was broken when the deed was recorded?"

During a 40-minute conversation with 5 On Your Side, Bey repeatedly mentioned the fact that Adams' home was, at one point, listed on Zillow as a "foreclosure."

The home is not a foreclosure and never was, according to Adams' real estate agent, who explained a computer glitch caused the home to be listed that way for a period of time.

Despite being asked repeatedly, Bey would not explain why Zillow listing the home as a foreclosure had any bearing on the situation.

Adams said the woman didn't have to present the Register of Deeds with any proof she actually owned the home.

"There was no inquiry about who owns the property. If there had been just this one simple check, my name would have popped up," Adams said. "There is no accountability measures ... none."

He only learned what was happening after the woman contacted the neighborhood management company, asking for gate access codes.

"If the person from PPM hadn't called my neighbor, I probably would never know," Adams said about the deed filed on his home.

Adams explained to the Wake County Register of Deeds that the document the woman filed was fraudulent, but he was told the only way to get the property record fixed was to prove in civil court that the warranty deed is fake.

Adams says that would cost him $8,000 in legal fees.

"That's pretty scary for North Carolina citizens because anyone can go downtown and make a false claim for someone else's property," Adams warned.

Adams told 5 On Your Side he believes Mangum's intention was to squat in the house and use the deed to slow down the eviction process.

The Wake County Sheriff's Office incident report lists the crime as "fraud-obtaining property by false pretense."

WRAL 5 On Your Side asked Wake County what happened. A county spokesperson replied in part:

"Under North Carolina law, Registers of Deeds are statutorily obligated to accept and immediately register documents in conformity with G.S. 161-14. The Register of Deeds is not required to verify the legal validity of a deed when it is presented for registration, nor are they required to verify the credentials or legal standing of the notary or drafter of the document (G.S. 47-14). With more than 500 documents processed through the Wake County Register of Deeds office daily, it would be impossible to verify the legitimacy of each document or the credentials of each notary, nor does the Register of Deeds office have access to a database of commissioned North Carolina notaries to check against. Register of Deeds staff are not attorneys and are explicitly barred from giving legal advice or from acting as an attorney in verifying a document. As soon as the Register of Deeds office became aware of the fraudulent deed, it alerted the Tax Administration office that no tax information for the property should be changed. Register of Deeds staff also immediately notified and is working with the Wake County Sheriff’s Office. The homeowner was also encouraged to file a police report."

"The Register of Deeds, they're not attorneys," attorney Cara Dudek-Petri Gibbons explained to 5 On Your Side.

Dudek-Petri Gibbons said deed fraud like this isn't exactly common, but it does happen and it's something homeowners need to be aware of.

She explained it happens most often on properties that are held in LLC's, trusts or that are paid off.

Dudek-Petri Gibbons said there's not really a way to prevent this, but you can contact your local Register of Deeds to set up a fraud alert so that anytime something is filed with your name on it, you are notified.

If this does happen to you, the legal process to correct it is lengthy and can cost victims thousands in legal fees.

"You're a victim of fraud, and then you're doing all this work and having to spend money to clean up something that you did nothing to have happen to you," Dudek-Petri Gibbons said.

Adams is pursuing charges against the woman he says filed the fraudulent deed.

Someone could face felony charges for filing a fraudulent deed, but even if they are convicted, the homeowner would still need to go through civil courts to correct the record. Mangum has not been charged in the case.

Another protection homeowners can look into is purchasing an insurance policy that covers legal costs up to a certain amount.

"Just be very mindful when you do that, that it does actually protect you, and that the insurance is going to actually cover you for things that you're looking for," Dudek-Petri Gibbons warned.