{"id":228374,"date":"2026-06-26T00:58:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T00:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/228374\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T00:58:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T00:58:13","slug":"11-investigates-dozens-of-deeds-in-allegheny-county-recorded-into-the-names-of-criminals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/228374\/","title":{"rendered":"11 Investigates: Dozens of deeds in Allegheny County recorded into the names of criminals"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you live in Allegheny County, you could be directly affected by this. <\/p>\n

11 Investigates learned dozens of deeds were fraudulently signed into the names of criminals, and most homeowners have no idea. <\/p>\n

Richard Self is one of the 35 victims that we know of. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is rampant,\u201d Self tells 11 Investigates. <\/p>\n

Richard Self left his South Side home to his grandson and great-grandchildren. It\u2019s a property he hoped would stay in the family for generations; however, over time, his grandson wasn\u2019t able to maintain it. Self was working with a realtor and considering his options. But when his wife checked Allegheny County property records, the deed wasn\u2019t in their name! Instead, it had been transferred to \u2018Blue Bags LLC” without their knowledge or consent. That LLC is registered to an address and people on the South Side they have never heard of. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re very sophisticated in the way they carry this out,\u201d Self tells 11 Investigates. \u201cWhen they change the deed, all they have to do is wait until the owner dies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelsey Green\u2019s title company took a call from a different, very angry property owner who said the notary in her office signed a fraudulent deed to a different LLC, or at least that\u2019s what he thought. Green took to TikTok to help expose what was happening and notify property owners in the county. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy title company uncovered a pretty sizeable deed fraud operating,\u201d Green tells her followers. \u201cSo far we\u2019ve found 35 properties … all fraudulent … all using fake notary stamps.\u201d <\/p>\n

Greg Gerlach is her boss at Ally Settlement Company. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we looked at the deed, we realized that wasn\u2019t her signature, and that was not the correct notary seal that she uses,\u201d Gerlach tells 11 Investigates. <\/p>\n

The notary seal looks similar, but there are clear differences in the middle initial, quality of the stamp, and the border. So far, Gerlach\u2019s team has uncovered 35 people that they know of who had their homes fraudulently signed over to criminals. All of those properties are on Pittsburgh\u2019s South Side. Gerlach says after 25 years in this industry, he\u2019s never seen anything like it. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen anything of this magnitude,\u201d Gerlach added. <\/p>\n

Gerlach says eight different notaries are victims of their seals being forged. He\u2019s also uncovered four fraudulent LLCs. He says the system is just not designed to catch this type of crime. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis would have never been detected,\u201d Gerlach added. <\/p>\n

We were at the recorder\u2019s office when Richard Self finally got his property back in his name, but not without a fight, a lot of time and sleepless nights. We asked how much this cost him. <\/p>\n

\u201cI would say $3,000, easy,\u201d Self tells 11 Investigates. \u201cAnd I can\u2019t pay all of it. I couldn\u2019t pay my bills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Self says he is grateful this is behind him, but there are still people who don\u2019t even know they\u2019re affected.<\/p>\n

We asked him what he would say to the person or people behind these fraudulent deeds. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou deserve to go to jail for a long time,\u201d Self says. \u201cYou\u2019re hurting people\u2019s lives. I can see people dying from this. The stress has been unbelievable.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Allegheny County District Attorney\u2019s Office tells 11 Investigates it is investigating, but cannot comment. <\/p>\n

The County says the Office of Property Assessments is sending letters to the homeowners affected.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, you can sign up for fraud alerts by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re going to scroll down to \u201cReceive Property Fraud Alerts\u201d and enter your information to be notified if your deed changes. <\/p>\n

Reporter Amy Hudak walks you through the steps in the video below:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

How to turn on deed fraud notifications in Allegheny County 11 Investigates learned dozens of deeds were fraudulently signed into the names of criminals, and most homeowners have no idea. <\/p>\n

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