An Oklahoma woman nearly had her family property stolen, here's how it happened
"We found that it was not a proper deed that was filed because it was from an individual instead of the trust,” said Larry Stein, the Oklahoma County Assessor.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Saina Monhatwa has experienced a great deal of loss.
Her grandfather passed away in October. A month later, her mom died after a stroke and the last thing on her mind was losing her family’s home as well.
"It's like you don't know where to turn when all this is happening,” said Monhatwa.
Before he died, her grandfather, Harvey, put his Southwest Oklahoma City home into a trust. It’s where Saina’s mom had been living.
Fast forward to recently, Saina was driving by the home and noticed a door was open. She found Tyeresha Barnett there claiming she owned the house.
Saina and her family reported it to authorities.
Turns out, the county assessor’s office said Barnett filed a fraudulent deed on the house.
"We found that it was not a proper deed that was filed because it was from an individual instead of the trust,” said Larry Stein, the Oklahoma County Assessor.
When comparing the legitimate deed to the fraudulent one, it is clear the two Harvey Monhatwa signatures look nothing alike.
Barnett’s name was eventually removed, but the issues didn’t end there.
Last week, after going to the Monhatwa house again, Barnett then went to the courthouse to try to essentially steal the property. Only this time, she was greeted by Oklahoma County deputies.
Barnett was arrested and booked into jail.
"We have this problem here. It is not just around the country. It is right here,” said Maressa Treat, the Oklahoma County Clerk.
Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson III added, "I had no clue myself about how easy it was to take someone's property and I hope that every citizen of Oklahoma County, every citizen of Oklahoma is mindful of that."
That’s why the court clerk, county assessor and sheriff say they’re cracking down.
"If you want to steal property you need to go to another state,” said Treat. “In Oklahoma we're done."
The county has an alert system that will automatically let you know when something is filed on your property. It’s free to sign up. In Oklahoma County, you can sign-up for alerts here.