Scammers list Maine family's retirement property for sale without their knowledge in terrifying new 'deed fraud' trend

A middle-aged man discovered that the 50-acre plot in Maine that he and his wife have been planning to retire on went up for sale over Memorial Day Weekend.

The issue is that Brian Beneski, 57, who had purchased the land from a company in 2021, is not the one who put it on the market.

Initially, he thought there must have been a significant error made, but then he saw the land was listed under another agent's name, who 'had gone up and taken fresh drone pictures of it and everything.'

Brian and his wife, Molly, the rightful owners of the property and legal deed holders, were nearly the victims of deed fraud, a relatively new and very serious type of real estate scam in which so-called 'title pirates' use forged deeds and documents to trick real estate agents into selling vacant land that is owned by others.

The scam requires the perpetrators to present fraudulent identification documents and convince real estate professionals to sell them property, which they list at below market rates and request be purchased in cash.

Brian and Molly Beneski nearly had their 50-acre Maine plot stolen out from underneath them due to a relatively new, very serious sort of property theft called deed fraud

The Beneskis reacted quickly to the notice that their land had gone up for sale and were able to get the process under control within 24 hours. 

Brian said he immediately reported the suspected fraud to county officers, and filed a complaint with the Maine attorney general.

He said the sheriff told him, 'this is probably somebody from out of the country,' according to the Bangor Daily News.

Brian said he understood why Maine might be an ideal state for these scammers to target.

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'Maine is full of people with vacation homes, or family property, you can definitely see how something like this could happen up here,

'If we didn’t happen to see the listing, I don’t know how we would ever have found out about it,' he said.

The company responsible for placing the Beneskis' property on the market says the whole situation has been 'just a nightmare.'

Cathy Duffy of Progressive Realty said her company had conducted due diligence on the land before listing it.

'It’s happening all over Maine and across the country. The scammers are very savvy and they know what they’re doing,' she said.

The agency says it received what brokers believed were the necessary pieces of identification from the seller.

In these sorts of scams, it's not just the landowners who are victims. Buyers wind up with no legal claim to property they thought they paid for, and real estate agents are not compensated for their work or time.

Brian said he understood why Maine might be an ideal state for these scammers to target. 'Maine is full of people with vacation homes, or family property, you can definitely see how something like this could happen up here'

The FBI recently released a guide that makes many of the same points as the newsletter, suggesting that agents should insist on in-person identity checks and/or video proof of life

 Deed fraud is a growing issue in Maine, but across the rest of the country as well. In the New England state, however, the legislature took up the problem during the last session.

The only result so far has been to commission a study into the crime.

Paul McKee, the president of the Maine affiliate of the National Association of Realtors, told Bangor Daily that the issue is becoming more and more serious by the day.

'It’s all about everyone doing their due diligence. Realtors, title companies, owners, all of us are players,' he said. 'Know who you’re working with.'

His group has been sending out informational material for realtors about how to identify potential fraudsters. 

Major 'red flags,' according to a newsletter recently circulated by McKee, include sales of vacant land that include low-priced or cash deals. Sellers who are in a rush to close are also worth investigating, as are those who refuse to attend a closing and only communicate via text or email.

The FBI recently released a guide that makes many of the same points as the newsletter, suggesting that agents should insist on in-person identity checks and/or video proof of life.