Family of disabled woman loses thousands in forged deed scam

The Kuwale Road property taken in forged deed scam

By Daryl Huff

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A Waianae family lost their disabled relative’s one-acre property to alleged title theft despite working with attorneys to gain legal guardianship and sell the home to pay for her care.

Betsy and her husband lived together on the Waianae property until he died and she became disabled from Alzheimer’s and dementia. The family rushed to sell the property to generate money for her care, but alleged title thieves acted first.

“The entire situation was tragic,” said attorney Summer Shelverton, who was helping the family members get guardianship in 2022 so they could sell the property and four-bedroom house.

Fraudulent transfer discovered after guardianship granted

The family hoped the property was worth more than $600,000, but accused title thief Eldon Simer moved quickly.

Within a month of the family gaining access to the property as conservators and guardians, they learned it was fraudulently transferred.

The title was clear on Aug. 1, 2022. Just 16 days later, Simer recorded a forged deed with the Bureau of Conveyances. When the family discovered the fraud in September, they filed a document hoping to block any sale. But 11 days later, Iron Wood Finance of Texas paid Simer $350,000 for the entire property.

“It was constantly a case of catch-up,” Shelverton said. “As soon as we learned the property was fraudulently conveyed, we’d go back and oh, it was now inappropriately sold.”

Police said fraud wasn’t criminal matter

The family had clear evidence. The notary said her seal was forged and she hadn’t witnessed the signatures. Within days they called police and were told it wasn’t a crime.

“They weren’t quite sure how to address and that their hands were tied,” Shelverton said.

The house mysteriously burned down a couple of months later.

“So to say that it was a shock, almost nothing was a shock at that point,” Shelverton said.

Simer was investigated by the attorney general’s office and indicted for insurance fraud for filing a $290,000 claim for the fire as well as multiple charges for title theft of the Waianae property and two others and is being held without bail.

State House consumer protection chair and attorney Scot Matayoshi said rightful owners on their own have little power to prevent a sale, even from a fraudulent owner.

“If someone wants to buy it, knowing that other action might be pending, people can still buy the property if they’d like,” Matayoshi said.

On its website, Iron Wood Finance offers “easy money” for real estate, says it accepts 90 percent of applicants and can finish deals in as little as 48 hours.

“I certainly think that these quick acting companies are allowing these crimes to be facilitated, but they’re doing it at their own risk too,” Matayoshi said.

The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Iron Wood defended its title and sold the property last year for $425,000. The family settled with the company, collecting far less money for Betsy’s care than they had hoped. 

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Family of disabled woman loses thousands in forged deed scam