A 77-year-old Georgia man was forced out of his home and arrested after someone allegedly used fraudulent paperwork to claim ownership of the residence, WSB-TV reports.
Charmaine and Charles Allman said they had been living in their home in Stone Mountain, Georgia for the past two decades until they were told earlier this month that they no longer had ownership of the property.
Officials forced the couple to vacate the home, and their belongings were thrown all over their yard, the Allmans said.
“They made us feel like we were squatters,” Charmaine Allman told WSB-TV. “Just tossed my stuff out like it was trash.”
According to reports, an unidentified man allegedly submitted a fraudulent deed with Dekalb County to claim ownership of the couple’s home. The Allmans said they became aware of suspicious activity after they received letters saying a second mortgage had been taken out on the home.
“We don’t have no more mortgage,” the couple said.
The alleged fraudster told the couple that he purchased their home from a foreclosure. When Charles Allman refused to leave his home, the 77-year-old was arrested on a Criminal Trespass warrant.
“I don’t know how this is possible,” Charmaine Allman said of the arrest. “How does this happen, period? It’s very upsetting to see my husband in handcuffs at 77 years old and placed in the car because he didn’t want to leave his home. He has nowhere to go. No family.”
Charles Allman was recently released from jail.
“It’s too easy to forge a deed and record it,” Real estate attorney Richard Alembik told WSB-TV. “It’s a big problem nowadays, because of the fact that e-filing, the e-recording of deeds is so easy. It’s very easy to record forged deeds.”
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