Ohio Couple Falls Victim To $1 Million House-Stealing Scam

By Taylor Linzinmeir

August 26, 2022

Photo: Butler County Sheriff’s Office

An Ohio couple recently fell victim to a $1 million house-stealing scam when a man showed up to one of their properties and claimed to be the owner, according to NBC 4 News.

49-year-old Shahiydullah A. Binraymond plotted and forged documents to lure the couple into signing over about $1 million worth of homes. He sent letters to the couple pretending to the the Franklin County Treasurer's Office. The letters, which were vague and slightly threatening, saidthere were problems with the tax payments that had been made to the properties, as well as problems with the deeds. He asked them to sign some paperwork and send it back to him. The couple had no idea the paperwork was designed to transfer the ownership of the properties into his trust.

“The way it was discovered was particularly frightening,” David Twombly, assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said. “Binraymond actually showed up at their house. This was after all of the scheme had taken place, more or less. He showed up at one of these properties and they happened to be there, and told them, ‘Hey, this is my property now.’ They called the police, and he was gone by the time police arrived. That’s how the investigation began.”

Twombly also gave advice as to not fall victim to the scheme yourself.

“If [the letter] is claiming to be the Franklin County Treasurer’s Office … call them, explain the situation, and see if they can help you understand what’s going on. In this case, there’s a decent chance — a very good chance, really — that would have stopped the thing in its tracks,” he said.

Binraymond plead guilty to mail fraud in March and is now in prison for 44 months.

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