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The man who came to own the sold house is facing accusations from seven property owners of filing fraudulent documents
- Brandon Cruz
A GRIEVING man's home was sold out from under him for around $10.
Derrick Breston had plans to retire in the New Orleans, Louisiana, home he owned with his late mother for the last 30 years.
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But one day in 2021, Breston came home to an unusual discovery - the locks on his house had all been changed.
This was the moment Breston discovered somebody had forged his signature and filed a quitclaim deed with the Orleans Parish Land Records.
A Louisiana quitclaim deed is a legal document that transfers properties, such as a home or commercial building, to another person or company.
The transferred deed claimed that Breston and his mother had signed the house over to a company named DH Catering in October 2020 for only $10.
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However, there was one major issue with this. Madeliene Simon, who is Breston's mother, died nearly two years before signing the document.
Breston's signature also does not match the one shown on the deed he supposedly signed.
Additionally, it is confirmed that Robert Schmidt's stamp and signature, who appears to have notarized the deed, was faked as well, according to a June 2023 report by local CBS affiliate WWL-TV.
“It just breaks me down,” Breston said. “I don’t know whether to fall out. I just don’t know what to do. This just brings back all the memories of me working on this house and having this house.”
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Even stranger, DH Catering LLC, the company the Breston supposedly signed his house to, was created and registered with the Louisiana Secretary of State on October 13, 2020.
That is the exact same day the forged quitclaim deed was signed and submitted.
My home was sold for $3.25 against my will even after I paid off $800 debt - I ended up with $10,000 bill and no house
The property was then transferred from DH Catering, which is registered to somebody named Delisa Hayes, to Jonathan Burden.
ONE MAN'S 'HUSTLE'
Burden is a self-described "investor" accused by at least seven property owners of filing fraudulent documents after promising to help them with their mortgage debts.
He can be seen on his social media pages bragging about "taking down" properties and showing himself convincing people in situations of financial hardship to sign over documents, ones that he later uses to claim ownership of their property.
In one particular instance, when appearing on a podcast called The Note Closers, Burden broke down what he calls his "hustle."
I’m distressed. I done depleted my accounts, my retirement accounts trying to obtain lawyers to try and save my house
Derrick BrestonHad his house sold from under him
Basically, Burden's process is to find properties facing foreclosure or tax sale, knock on the door offering to help save the home if they agree to pay him instead, and then have them sign documents as "collateral" in case they don't pay.
However, Burden is accused of doing nothing in exchange for the payment and actually tricking homeowners into signing documents that handed over their houses to Burden, according to those seven property owners he is facing accusations from.
Burden has claimed at least 18 properties in the New Orleans area, many selling at large profits.
That includes Breston’s house, which DH Catering transferred to Burden exactly 90 days after the fake quitclaim deed was signed and submitted.
That same day, Burden turned around and sold it to another company for $100,000, according to New Orleans housing records.
“I feel duped and heartbroken," Breston said. "I’m distressed. I done depleted my accounts, my retirement accounts trying to obtain lawyers to try and save my house.”
FISHY SIGNATURES
Burden claims he did not know the DH Catering deed was forged, but Breston says the writing on the top of the DH Catering quitclaim looks very similar to other deeds that courts established were, in fact, written by Burden.
Adele Thonn, a national board-certified forensic document examiner, compared the top of the DH Catering deed with several other examples of Burden’s handwriting.
“The evidence points rather strongly to the questioned and the known documents having been written by the same writer,” she said.
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“It's the same slant. It's utilizing the same construction of the K. There's the same proportion of letters to the capital letter. There's the same circular I-dot,” Thonn said.
The New Orleans Police Department's white-collar crimes unit is now on the case as Breston is fighting to save his home.
What is quitclaim deed fraud?
At least 400 cases of quitclaim deed fraud have been filed throughout the mid-south. Here's how they work.
- Quitclaim deeds allow for quick and easy property transfers between individuals. Thieves can pressure people into signing the form or forge their signatures without their knowledge.
- Once the criminals have a signed deed, they can bring it to a county register -and they're often obligated to file the paperwork.
- When the document has been processed, the thief can quickly rent, mortgage, or even sell the property without the rightful owner's knowledge.
