An FBI Boston warning a couple of rise in quitclaim deed fraud carefully resembles a civil case involving a Boston Water and Sewer Fee HR director who’s alleged to have labored with kin to swindle her aged uncle out of his residence.
The similarity has not gone unnoticed, in response to Ricardo Arroyo, an ex-Boston metropolis councilor and legal professional representing the aged man who filed swimsuit in opposition to Marie Theodat, chief human useful resource officer on the Water and Sewer Fee, and three different kin who’re alleged to have been concerned within the scheme.
“We did see it, and we do believe that the facts of this case fit squarely into what is described in that release by the FBI,” Arroyo advised the Herald.
One among three situations highlighted by the FBI is “family members, often the elderly, targeted by their own relatives and close associates who convince them to transfer the property into their own name for their own financial gain.”
The household of Rodolphe St. Cloud, the aged man who alleged that he fell sufferer to the same scheme in an August 2024 civil lawsuit, is contemplating submitting a proper criticism with the FBI for quitclaim deed fraud — because of the discharge that was despatched out by the federal company this week, the Herald has realized.
Requested whether or not the company is investigating the problems outlined within the St. Cloud property civil swimsuit, the FBI withheld remark.
“In keeping with DOJ policy, we cannot comment on specific cases or even confirm/deny existence of investigations,” FBI Boston spokesperson Kristen Setera mentioned in an announcement to the Herald.
The FBI Boston launch warned of an increase in such fraud which it mentioned is also called residence title theft and “involves fraudsters who forge documents to record a phony transfer of ownership.”
“Criminals can then sell either the vacant land or home, take out a mortgage on it, or even rent it out to make a profit, forcing the real owners to head to court to reclaim their property,” the FBI launch states.
Of the 4 states included within the FBI Boston Division, Massachusetts had much more reported victims —1,576 who misplaced roughly $46.26 million — than Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
“Folks across the region are having their roots literally pulled out from under them and are being left with no place to call home,” Jodi Cohen, particular agent in command of the FBI Boston Division, mentioned in an announcement. “They’re suffering deeply personal losses that have inflicted a significant financial and emotional toll, including shock, anger, and even embarrassment.
“We are urging the public to heed this warning and to take proactive steps to avoid losing your property,” Cohen added. “Anyone who is a victim of this type of fraud should report it to us.”
The Suffolk Superior Court docket lawsuit filed by St. Cloud’s legal professional alleges that Theodat labored with kin, together with her sister Danny Levy to swindle their aged and dementia-ridden uncle, St. Cloud, out of his $1.1 million Dorchester residence.
The criticism alleges that Theodat, who made $202,873 with the Boston Water and Sewer Fee final 12 months and is on paid administrative depart, “fraudulently induced” the practically 90-year-old St. Cloud to signal over the deed to his longtime residence underneath the “guise” that he was signing paperwork associated to his medical care.
The property was conveyed for “less than $100” to 144 Fuller LLC, an entity named after the handle of the house and managed, per the lawsuit, by Theodat; her sister Danny Levy, chief buyer and worker expertise officer for the MBTA; Levy’s husband Wayne Levy, chief of workers on the quasi-public company Massachusetts Life Sciences Heart; and one other relative Harcher Batrival.
“Rodolphe St. Cloud does not read or speak English and as such relied on Marie A. Theodat to translate and interpret for him,” the 2024 lawsuit states. “Mr. St. Cloud was also afflicted with dementia at the time of the signing and did not have the mental capacity to understand or execute a transfer.”
Of the listed defendants, solely Batrival responded to a Herald request for touch upon the potential of a proper fraud criticism being lodged with the FBI.
“Given that this is an ongoing legal case, I’m not able to comment at this time,” Batrival mentioned in a textual content message. “I do want to emphasize that I take the situation seriously and intend to address the allegations appropriately through the legal process.”
Theodat described the lawsuit as “fraudulent” in a quick cellphone name with the Herald final 12 months, whereas Danny and Wayne Levy have denied not less than a part of the allegations in separate court docket filings.
If St. Cloud’s household had been to refer a criticism to the FBI, it might be not less than the third referral within the civil case, in response to the lawsuit, which states that the places of work of Massachusetts Legal professional Normal and the Suffolk County District Legal professional are “investigating these criminal acts.”
The AG’s workplace has beforehand mentioned that it might not affirm, deny, nor touch upon the existence of an investigation, whereas the Suffolk DA’s workplace mentioned it doesn’t deal with civil circumstances.
The lawsuit outlines a sequence of occasions the place all kin listed within the swimsuit benefited from the “fraudulent scheme,” which disadvantaged St. Cloud and his roughly 90-year-old life companion, Marthe Jeudi, of “record ownership of the property” and divested them of “hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity.”
Jeudi has “advanced mental deficiency due to Alzheimer’s” and resides in an assisted care facility. St. Cloud was listed because the file proprietor of the Dorchester residence, 144 Fuller St., since March of 1989, and is now going through eviction proceedings in Massachusetts Land Court docket, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit states that on the identical day Theodat obtained the “quitclaim deed fraudulently conveying the property to 144 Fuller LLC,” Boston Belief Finance LLC, a subsidiary of the personal lender Boston Belief, granted a industrial mortgage and safety settlement value greater than $2 million in opposition to the property to 144 Fuller LLC.
The mortgage secured by Theodat utilizing 144 Fuller St. was used to safe the mortgage on 1806 Beacon St., a Waban residence owned by Danny and Wayne Levy, “which had been foreclosed, then purchased at a subsequent foreclosure sale, by Theodat around the same time, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit is slowly making its way through the court system. The last docket movement was a motion to dismiss filed on March 28 by Theodat. The filing states St. Cloud “does not have the legal capacity to bring this action on his own behalf.”
“It was filed improperly and has no merit,” Arroyo mentioned. “We intend to have an opposition filed through the proper channels to address that.”
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