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Extreme home takeover: dubious deeds used to scoop up Dade properties - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com
Many of the deeds, however, lacked a key element: The signatures of the original owners giving up the property. In some cases, a company representative appeared to sign the deed on behalf of the owner, the records show. Others contained only the signature “Presscott Rosche.”
But Presscott Rosche — or Prescott Rosche — is not a person. It is a limited partnership registered with the state. The partnership’s registration papers list no person with the name “Presscott Rosche,” nor does anyone with that name appear in searches of public records or databases.
Nine homeowners told The Herald that the Presscott Rosche deeds for their houses are bogus. Some were unaware of the deeds until informed by a reporter.
“I haven’t signed anything,” said Diana Benintend of Ocala, whose Miami-Dade house was transferred to Presscott Rosche — without her knowledge, she says.
“Those signatures aren’t even close,” said attorney Timothy Kingcade, whose clients, Gustavo Graziano and Cecilia Falzone, appeared to give their house to Presscott Rosche last year. “The deed is defective in a lot of ways … My clients didn’t know anything about this, I am absolutely certain.”
Deeds and other official records are filed with Miami-Dade’s clerk of courts. But the clerk’s office does not have the authority to reject suspicious documents or investigate potential fraud, said David Rooney, head of the clerk’s recording office. If a document meets all the formal requirements, it must be recorded, he said.
“We’re just ministerial,” Rooney said. “We can’t judge whether something is fraudulent or not.”
However, Rooney conceded that some Presscott Rosche deeds should have been rejected because they didn’t have the required signatures.
Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Carlos Lopez-Cantera is also investigating the Presscott Rosche transactions, to ensure that tax bills go to the true owners................................................
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