By State Sen. HENRY INGWERSEN, Special to the Gazette
This time of year, we’re all familiar with the Grinch who, seeking to ruin the holidays, sneaks around and tries to steal Christmas from the good people of Whoville.
However, on December 3, I gaveled in the final meeting of a commission that had its eye on another crafty fellow – the fraudster that fakes property deeds, stealing land and homes from right underneath buyers and sellers alike. Known as a “seller impersonator,” he is often a fraudulent seller who fakes a deed for a property, sells it to a legitimate buyer and walks away with the money, causing harm and legal headaches to hardworking Mainers.
Earlier this year, I introduced legislation to create the Deed Fraud Prevention Commission. LD 353 received unanimous, bipartisan support in the Judiciary Committee and Maine Senate. It was signed into law on July 1.
Commission members included licensed realtors, title attorneys, registrars of deeds, representatives of law enforcement and banking, the Secretary of State’s office and bipartisan legislators. I was honored to serve as the Senate Chair of the Commission.
Throughout the fall, my fellow commission members and I met in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the crime of deed fraud, how prevalent it is in Maine and how it occurs. We also learned about existing criminal penalties for deed fraud; available educational materials for awareness and prevention; and recent studies, recommendations and legislation from other states designed to prevent and provide relief from deed fraud.
Commission members and invited guests explained the duties and practices involved in property sales in Maine, including identity verification, notarization, the scope of title insurance and recording of deeds. They also spoke of their experiences and perspectives of deed fraud in Maine.
During our meetings, we found that seller impersonation fraud is a growing, complicated problem nationwide and in Maine. We learned that “red flags” warning of possible deed fraud can include, among other things, a vacant land transaction, a push for a hurried sale at below market value, the seller only communicating electronically and an all-cash sale. Also, due to the difficulties of locating and holding responsible perpetrators of deed fraud and unwinding the fraudulent deed once it is recorded, we found that prevention is crucial.
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We found that seller impersonation fraud is a growing,
complicated problem nationwide and in Maine.
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At our final meeting, we discussed and voted on our proposed findings and recommendations. By the end of the month, we’ll finalize our report, which we’ll present to the Judiciary Committee in the new year, including any recommendations for legislation the Committee can develop and propose to the full Legislature.
With the rise in deed fraud, it is critical that we take action to protect fellow Mainers from predatory scammers, especially for those who have worked hard and lived in their homes for decades or held onto vacant property as a nest egg for later in life. Through this thoughtful commission, we developed a fuller understanding of the problem and how we might be able to address it in the next legislative session.
If you want to learn more about our work, you can find all of the Commission’s materials online here. You can watch the archived audio-visual recordings of the meetings and read and review the background materials. Once it’s available, you can also read the final report.
Along with our findings and recommendations, I hope that these materials help raise public awareness about these kinds of real estate scams. After all, as we learned, it is much harder to prevent them if folks aren’t aware of them.
I want to wish you all a happy new year and blessings for a healthy and positive 2026.
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Henry Ingwersen is serving his second term as the state senator representing District 32, which includes Biddeford, Arundel, Dayton, Hollis and Lyman.
He may be contacted at Henry.Ingwersen@legislature.maine.gov.
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