TAMARAC, Fla. – A 38-year-old man was arrested last month on accusations that he stole the Tamarac home of a deceased 96-year-old, authorities announced Wednesday.
According to a joint news release from the Broward Sheriff’s Office and the Broward County Property Appraiser, the BCPA first detected the fraudulent deed, notary stamp and last will and testament on May 30 when Braden Antonio Emdin used them to sign up for the BCPA’s Owner Alert Program, “a program developed by the BCPA to protect property owners from fraud by notifying registered property owners of a deed received by the BCPA changing the ownership of their property.”
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Authorities said Emdin identified himself as the grandson of the Tamarac resident, who was the sole owner of the home.
According to the news release, Emdin forged the deed to the property and a will naming himself as the heir to the property.
He was arrested by deputies on Aug. 17 at a local title company in Cooper City on charges of grand theft of more than $100,000, unlawful filing of false property documents, obtaining property over $50,000 by fraud and fraud possession of identification of another person without consent.
“After Emdin was taken into custody, documents containing personal information including social security numbers, names, dates of birth, fraudulent identification of Broward residents, credit cards, pin numbers, tax returns, property identification numbers, and instruction on how to file fraudulent documents were seized,” the news release stated.
Authorities said Emdin stole the identities of dozens of victims, who will be mailed letters from BSO and BCPA to alert them about their findings.
As of Wednesday, Emdin was being held at the North Broward Bureau without bond.
Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar urges homeowners to register for the Owner Alert program by visiting https://web.bcpa.net/owneralert.