11 Investigates: Dozens of deeds in Allegheny County recorded into the names of criminals

If you live in Allegheny County, you could be directly affected by this.

11 Investigates learned dozens of deeds were fraudulently signed into the names of criminals, and most homeowners have no idea.

Richard Self is one of the 35 victims that we know of.

“I think this is rampant,” Self tells 11 Investigates.

Richard Self left his South Side home to his grandson and great-grandchildren. It’s a property he hoped would stay in the family for generations; however, over time, his grandson wasn’t 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’t in their name! Instead, it had been transferred to ‘Blue 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.

“They’re very sophisticated in the way they carry this out,” Self tells 11 Investigates. “When they change the deed, all they have to do is wait until the owner dies.”

Kelsey Green’s 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’s what he thought. Green took to TikTok to help expose what was happening and notify property owners in the county.

“My title company uncovered a pretty sizeable deed fraud operating,” Green tells her followers. “So far we’ve found 35 properties ... all fraudulent ... all using fake notary stamps.”

Greg Gerlach is her boss at Ally Settlement Company.

“When we looked at the deed, we realized that wasn’t her signature, and that was not the correct notary seal that she uses,” Gerlach tells 11 Investigates.

The notary seal looks similar, but there are clear differences in the middle initial, quality of the stamp, and the border. So far, Gerlach’s 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’s South Side. Gerlach says after 25 years in this industry, he’s never seen anything like it.

“I’ve never seen anything of this magnitude,” Gerlach added.

Gerlach says eight different notaries are victims of their seals being forged. He’s also uncovered four fraudulent LLCs. He says the system is just not designed to catch this type of crime.

“This would have never been detected,” Gerlach added.

We were at the recorder’s 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.

“I would say $3,000, easy,” Self tells 11 Investigates. “And I can’t pay all of it. I couldn’t pay my bills.”

Self says he is grateful this is behind him, but there are still people who don’t even know they’re affected.

We asked him what he would say to the person or people behind these fraudulent deeds.

“You deserve to go to jail for a long time,” Self says. “You’re hurting people’s lives. I can see people dying from this. The stress has been unbelievable.”

The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office tells 11 Investigates it is investigating, but cannot comment.

The County says the Office of Property Assessments is sending letters to the homeowners affected.

In the meantime, you can sign up for fraud alerts by clicking here.

You’re going to scroll down to “Receive Property Fraud Alerts” and enter your information to be notified if your deed changes.

Reporter Amy Hudak walks you through the steps in the video below:

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.

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