Deputy Treasurer Conspired to Fraudulently Transfer Home: Prosecutor

DETROIT, MI — An assistant Wayne County deputy treasurer and another woman were arraigned on fraud charges Thursday after they allegedly conspired to illegally transfer ownership of a home belonging to a dead woman.

In December 2015, Felicia Ann Tyler, then the assistant deputy treasurer of land management, filed a quitclaim deed to transfer a property to White on the 600 block of Burlingame Street in Detroit’s Woodward Village Neighborhood, the Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy said in a news release.

The property belonged to Edwina White, who died Sept. 7, 2015. Edwina White and Donna White are not related, authorities said.

Authorities allege Tyler destroyed on quitclaim deed on Dec. 18, 2015, and forged Edwina White’s signature one another one. Donna White took possession of the home on Jan. 7, 2016.

Tyler is accused of violating the Michigan Public Notary Act by notarizing a form without Edwina White’s true signature, authorities said. Tyler, who has been placed on administrative leave from without pay from her treasurer’s office job, faces up to four years in prison if convicted of the notary public violation.

Donna White was charged with uttering and publishing a document affecting real property, a 14-year felony; forgery of a document affecting real property, a 14-year felony; and filing a fraudulent conveyance, a three-year felony.

Both women were arraigned in 36th District Court Thursday before Magistrate Bari Blake Wood, who set $10,000 personal bonds for both. They are due in court on Sept. 1 for a probable cause hearing and Sept. 7 for a preliminary examination. Both hearings will be before Judge Shannon Holmes.

The Wayne County Mortgage and Deed Fraud Unit began investigating the property transfer in April after a woman affiliated with the Woodward Village Neighborhood Association became suspicious that property records indicated the home was transferred after Edwina White died. Furthermore, the investigation revealed that Edwina had been living with her daughter from May 2015 until her death, and had never met or heard of Donna White.

Wayne County Register of Deeds Bernard Youngblood said the case is the second in recent years flagged by neighbors.

“I cannot stress enough the importance of an active Homeowners Association to maintain the harmony and safety within a neighborhood,” he said in a statement. “In addition, this case also demonstrates the importance and the responsibility notaries have in real estate transfers. Notaries are the gatekeepers to uphold the integrity of the documents.”

The Wayne County Mortgage and Deed Fraud Unit was created in 2005, and operates in partnership with the register of deeds and the prosecutor’s and sheriff’s offices to solve the “epidemic problem” of mortgage and deed fraud in Wayne County, according to the release.

As a result, notaries are now held to a higher standard, Youngblood said.

Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon said the Tyler’s alleged actions diminish public confidence in government.

“Residents and property owners expect that the public’s trust will be preserved at every turn, and rightly so,” Napoleon said, also in a statement. “If someone attempts to break the law, they shouldn't be aided by those assigned to facilitate the process. And we certainly won’t turn a blind eye to an offense by anyone, whether they're in the public or government personnel.”

Image via Shutterstock