Stranger steals the deed to multimillion-dollar North Carolina mansion in a shocking real estate scam
In a stunning case of real estate fraud, a Raleigh, NC man is locked in a bitter legal fight to reclaim his multimillion-dollar mansion after a stranger swiped the deed to his property — and now he’s being told to pay thousands just to get his own home back.Craig Adams, a local dentist who owns an 8,300-square-foot home in an exclusive gated community in North Raleigh, was blindsided when he found out that the deed to his house had been transferred to someone named Dawn Mangum without his consent or knowledge.
The residence is also now for sale, asking $4.25 million.“Found out that she had filed a false warranty claim deed against this house and basically tried to steal [it],” Adams told ABC 7.Adams first learned of the fraudulent takeover when his homeowner’s association contacted him, asking if he had sold his property.Mangum had reached out to the HOA, requesting gate access to the private community where the home is located — raising alarm bells that something wasn’t right.
When Adams dug deeper, he discovered that Mangum had somehow filed paperwork with the Wake County Register of Deeds, listing herself as the new owner of his property under the “Dawn Mangum Trust.” What was even more shocking? The paperwork was approved and officially recorded without anyone verifying if it was legitimate.“There’s no effort to authenticate the validity of the change of deed.
Nobody verifies the notary.Nobody verifies who owns the house that’s trying to be transferred to a different owner,” Adams said.
He quickly provided evidence that the home was his, including mortgage and tax records, but the county officials told him their hands were tied.“They say there’s absolutely nothing they can do to reverse this,” Adams said.
“Once it’s filed, their only solution is that I have to go hire a private attorney, and the first quote I got was about $8,000 to file a civil suit against this woman.” So how did this happen? North Carolina law doesn�...