FDLE documents how woman collected on property she didn’t own

PALM Seashore COUNTY, Fla. — Tabria Josey, 20, is going through seven various felony counts, from plan to defraud to grand theft, dollars laundering, communications fraud and aggravated white-collar crime. This comes from a 58-web page affidavit from the Florida Section of Law Enforcement that in-depth 21 unique true estate strategies in Florida – and 11 of them happened in Lee County. She is remaining held in the Palm Beach front County Jail.

In accordance to the FDLE, Josey produced seven different title corporations amongst November 2020 and April 2022: Cedar Hawk Title, Forest Title, Brookefield National Title, Zeek Title, Lotus Countrywide Title, Lotus National Title and Escrow and Fidelity National Title and Insurance plan.

She also established various bogus names for title agents, like “Victoria Lansen”, “Sabrina Grant”, “Lindsey Mills”, “Briana Mills”, “Kayla Mitchells” and “Melissa Fletcher”. The FDLE promises Josey also established internet websites, Fb accounts and e-mail addresses, even LinkedIn profiles for the phony businesses and title agents.

How It Worked: Investigators say Josey would record properties on web pages like Zillow, Trulia, Craigslist, ForSaleBuyOwner.com, Real estate agent.com and Facebook Market. They would come with a cellphone number or e-mail contact that Josey managed. When a purchaser would achieve out, they would converse to Josey and negotiate terms of a sale.

Josey would then move to electronic document programs, like DocuSign, HelloSign and AppFiles, to total the offers. She would then ask for earnest dollars, which is prevalent in true estate promotions, and would offer wiring directions to a Wells Fargo account. Only Wells Fargo was only a “pass through” as the funds would go into a Stripe account.

Following getting the earnest dollars payments, Josey would lower off all interaction with the buyer.

Of the 21 houses FDLE alleges Josey’s involvement with, we looked at the eleven from Lee County. In overall, investigators say that Josey defrauded persons out of $141,295 in these earnest payments from Lee County alone.

Home #2, Lehigh Acres. April 13, 2021 to June 9, 2021. A sufferer attempts to invest in a residence for her daughter by Fb Market, for sale by an “Angela Duggan” (one of Josey’s aliases). The very first sufferer wired $2,500, which was the start off of many victims for this a single house. A different wired $5,000 on May well 11, 2021. A 3rd target wired $2,500 on June 7, 2021. Two other individuals sent $3,000 a lot more for a whole of $13,000 in “earnest money” from five victims and an attempt to defraud another individual.

Property #3, Lehigh Acres. July 28, 2021. Target wired $2,500.

Assets #5, Lehigh Acres. August 18, 2021 to August 23, 2021. 3 victims wired in a complete of $11,700 to attempt and “buy” this residence.

Home #6, Lehigh Acres. September 1, 2021 to September 24, 2021. 5 additional victims, this time for a whole of $23,500 to “purchase” this house.

Property #8, Lehigh Acres. October 6, 2021 to October 22, 2021. 5 victims in whole for this assets for a whole of $22,445.

Residence #9, Lehigh Acres. October 22, 2021. House detailed on Zillow. A person target for $4,500.

Property #10, Lehigh Acres. Oct 22, 2021. Just one sufferer despatched $6,400. Also the time when investigators tracked extra than $21,000 going from Josey’s Stripe account (where by the earnest money payments would go) into her individual bank account.

Assets #12, Lehigh Acres. November 23, 2021. A person victim for $5,500.

Property #18, Bonita Springs. February 2, 2022. For this residence, prosecutors say Josey took two different victims for $14,000 in overall.

Property #19, Lehigh Acres. February 7, 2022 to February 15, 2022. A single target for $12,750.

House #21, Bonita Springs. April 11, 2022 to April 12, 2022. One particular victim for $25,000.