Texas Man Admits to $1.5 Million Deed Fraud Scheme Involving Properties in 4 States

An empty piece of land might seem like an easy real estate investment opportunity, but for unsuspecting property owners across the country, those plots of land became targets in an alleged $1.5 million deed fraud scheme carried out by four men posing as the landowners.

Moshe Levi, 61, of Carrollton, TX, has admitted to helping carry out the plan, which involved impersonating property owners, arranging fraudulent sales, and laundering the proceeds, federal prosecutors announced this week.

On Wednesday, Levi pleaded guilty in a Boston federal courtroom to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The fraudulent property sales totaled more than $1.5 million, according to prosecutors.

Levi was one of three people indicted in July 2026. According to court filings, Levi and his alleged co-conspirators targeted vacant, unencumbered properties in Massachusetts, Georgia, Indiana, and Tennessee.

“Mr. Levi deeply regrets his conduct,” Levi's attorney, Ian Gold, tells Realtor.com®. “The plea represents an important step toward accountability to the victims and society.”

How the deed fraud scheme worked

The scheme hit home for Halla Shami Jaraki, who owns a vacant lot on Mattison Drive in Concord, MA, but lives in South Carolina with her husband, Omar. 

The couple had hoped to return to Massachusetts or pass the land along to one of their sons. Instead, their property was sold in 2024 for roughly $525,000 by someone allegedly posing as the owner, according to The Concord Bridge.

Developers began to build on the property but were stopped when the couple obtained an injunction against them. According to prosecutors, this couple’s experience was how the scheme worked.

Levi and his co-conspirators targeted vacant properties owned by people who lived out of state, then created email and internet-based phone accounts in the owners' names. They also obtained fake driver’s licenses and passports with the names of the property owners.

The group then used the forged documents and accounts to impersonate the owners of the properties and then allegedly persuaded real estate agents to list the properties, negotiate the sale of the properties, and transfer the deed to the unsuspecting buyer for payment.

The scheme allegedly extended beyond the fraudulent sales. Prosecutors said Levi and his co-conspirators moved money through individual and corporate bank accounts they controlled, using checks and wire transfers to conceal the source, ownership, and control of the proceeds.

Since around June 2023, Levi and others have shared or attempted to share in approximately $1 million in illegal proceeds, prosecutors said.

In April 2025, the FBI’s Boston office warned of an increase in deed fraud cases, with the rise of remote real estate transactions providing opportunities for “title pirates.” Property owners are being urged to be on the lookout for a number of warning signs, including missing property tax and water bills and sudden and unexplained increases in utility charges at vacant properties.

In a survey released in September from the American Land Title Association, 59% of title firms reported at least one incident of seller impersonation fraud in the prior year, which is more than double the 28% reported in the 2024 survey.

Moshe Levi faces restitution of at least $1.34 million

Levi will be sentenced on Feb. 11, 2027. He faces up to 20 years on each of the two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Prosecutors said they would recommend prison time “at the low end” of the sentencing guidelines, along with a fine “at the low end” of the guidelines, three years of supervised release, forfeiture, and at least $1.34 million in restitution. 

Levi was charged along with Kyon James of Middleborough, MA, and Bradley Beauge of Somerset, NJ. Those charges for money laundering conspiracy are currently pending.

A fourth co-conspirator is based in Nigeria, but prosecutors have not publicly released their name.