Greg's Corner

Scammer tried to steal homes of grieving families

By Greg Collier

It wasn’t more than two weeks ago where we posted what, we thought, was the lowest scam we’ve ever heard of. That was when scammers were selling funeral plots to grieving families when the scammers didn’t own the plots in the first place. Now, we may have found one that is possibly even lower than that.

An Indianapolis man was recently indicted on 16 separate federal charges. The suspect is believed to have targeted grieving families after finding their deceased loved one’s name in the obituaries. For two years, he’s believed to have tried to force these grieving families into selling their homes.

As per the county prosecutor’s office, the accused tried to coerce the sale of a homeowner’s property, camouflaged a $50,000 bank loan, and employed forged heirship documentation.

In one instance, the suspect is accused of forging a sales agreement to force a woman in a nursing home to sell her home to him. In another instance, the suspect is accused of forcing a woman with short-term memory loss to lend him $50,000 with no intention of paying it back.

Scammers often target victims who are in a state of emotional crisis. The goal here is to pressure the victim into making a decision that benefits the scammer, that often appears as a way to help the victim.

While these scams may have been isolated to the Indianapolis area, it probably won’t be long before someone else tries it while thinking they can do it better.

Since this is somewhat uncharted territory, we don’t have any concrete ways of protecting yourself from such a scammer. However, we do have some suggestions. If you’re still mourning the loss of a loved one, take as much time as you need to grieve. If you feel like someone is pressuring you into making a financial situation during that time, research whatever they’re offering when you’re ready to. If you have a parent who lost their spouse, and they also have cognitive disabilities, you may want to look into assuming guardianship or power of attorney. While it may appear to them that you’re taking away some of their freedoms, it may protect them in the long run.