TUCSON, Ariz. – William Gordon, a 66-year-old Arizona resident, had plans to build his retirement home on a piece of undeveloped land he purchased decades ago. But in March 2023, a letter arrived that delivered a shock: his 3 1/3-acre property in Tucson, bought in 1999 for $76,500, had reportedly been sold for $200,000 without his consent or knowledge.
The congratulatory letter, sent by a title company, immediately struck Gordon as suspicious. He quickly noticed discrepancies that should have raised red flags for others involved in the transaction.
“I noticed the last four digits of the Social Security number were not mine and the address was wrong — the mail shouldn’t have even gotten to me,” Gordon told Business Insider in 2023.
Gordon was also paying regular mortgage payments on the land and had about $9,000 left on the loan when he received the unexpected news of the sale. His plans for his future retirement were abruptly complicated by the fraudulent transaction.
According to Gordon, the celebratory letter from the title company contained several peculiar details that he felt should have been recognized by the company as well. These weren’t minor errors but significant deviations from typical real estate transactions.
“There were several really odd things that had been ignored,” he stated. One particularly jarring detail involved the notary public listed on the documents associated with the sale.
Gordon pointed out that the notary used was located a considerable distance away from where the signing supposedly took place. Specifically, the notary was “5 1/2 hours away in an entirely different county from where the documents were signed.”
Further review of the warranty deed recorded by the county revealed more inconsistencies. The document, which Business Insider reviewed, showed that the state and county names had been altered.
Arizona and Pima, the actual location of the property and Gordon’s residence area, had been crossed out. They were replaced by “Texas” and “Bexar,” a county situated approximately 900 miles from Tucson, where Gordon’s land is located.
Gordon was clear about his location at the time the documents were allegedly signed in Texas. “I was not in Texas,” he asserted.
He added that he had means to verify his whereabouts. “I could prove that I was in Arizona at the time that the paperwork was signed by a notary in Texas.”
The individual who impersonated Gordon in the transaction remains unclear based on the information provided. However, the notary stamp on the fraudulent documents indicated the name Penny Davis of Texas.
After discovering the unauthorized sale, Gordon contacted Title Security Agency, the Arizona company that originally handled his title work when he purchased the property back in 1999. The company is now under new ownership, having been acquired by First American Financial in 2020.
Gordon reported that Title Security Agency quickly recognized that he was not the person who had sold the property. He said they confirmed someone was impersonating him within moments of his call.
They then directed him to the Pima County recorder’s office, explaining that this office handled the recording and indexing of documents for the area.
However, the response from the Pima County recorder’s office presented a different perspective on their role. Gordon stated that the office informed him they record documents but do not verify their authenticity.
The county office then sent him back to the title company, indicating that verification was not their responsibility in this process.
Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly elaborated on the function of her office in 2023. She told Business Insider that she was unsure why the title company had directed Gordon to her department.
Cázares-Kelly likened the recorder’s office to a library, explaining its primary function. “We rely on title companies, on notaries — which is why they are required to have insurance — because it is ultimately up to those companies to have the safeguards to ensure that they’re dealing with the correct property,” she stated.
