"Dead" Property Owners Sell Land

Five Indicted For Land Fraud

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA -- The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, as a partner in the United States Secret Service Southwest Florida Financial Crimes Task Force, announces a Federal indictment of the following five people who are alleged to have been involved in a scheme to steal title to real properties in Charlotte, Collier and Lee Counties by way of mail fraud and wire fraud:

Howard Henry, 45, Miramar, Fla. is charged with one count mail fraud and three counts of wire fraud.
Sheila W. Henry, 48, Miramar, Fla. is charged with one count of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud.
Quitin Henry, 23, Tamarac, Fla. is charged with one count of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud.
Tysha Wiggins, 28, Miramar, Fla. is charged with one count of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud.
Omar Dalberry, 24, Miami, Fla. is charged with one count of mail fraud.

The five defendants are accused of fraudulently obtaining title to real property throughout Southwest Florida. The investigation began in November of 2004. According to the indictment, the group would research property using the internet to find existing property that had several years of property taxes unpaid. The group would then connect those properties to deceased persons and begin to fraudulently obtain the property. The group is accused of forging the names of the deceased owners on deeds in order to illegally obtain the properties and sell them. The indictment alleges the defendants have fraudulently obtained title to at least 18 real properties located in Collier, Lee and Charlotte Counties with a total market value of more than $576,000.