A Philadelphia man will spend three years in prison for forging documents and signatures to illegally transfer ownership of six city homes to himself or his associates.
Macangelo Tillman, 52, pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud in March. Over the course of two years, prosecutors said, he forged signatures and notary stamps — or bribed an official to notarize documents without the appropriate parties present — in order to acquire properties belonging to deceased owners, or those owing significant taxes.
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The homes spanned different neighborhoods, including Overbook Park, East Germantown, Carroll Park and Elmwood Park. As court documents allege, Tillman targeted properties listed for sale by the sheriff’s office due to unpaid taxes or titled to dead individuals. With the help of several associates, he executed an elaborate scheme to assume control of the homes.
Tillman generally drew up deeds transferring ownership of a property from its legitimate owner, either dead or unaware of Tillman’s actions, to himself or a co-conspirator, prosecutors said. To avoid transfer taxes, he often falsely claimed the new owner was a child of the original grantor. He also sometimes submitted additional forged paperwork demonstrating financial hardship to waive or reduce outstanding back taxes. These documents included fake utility bills, doctored identification and a forged letter of benefits from the Social Security Administration.
Tillman forged the necessary paperwork with the help of at least one notary public, who stamped his documents without the original owner present or reviewing their identification, investigators said. But he also misled additional notaries or forged their stamp without their knowledge.
In some cases, Tillman sold the homes once he had illegally obtained them, prosecutors said. He pocketed up to $18,000 per sale, after splitting his earnings with any involved associates. His schemes affected 11 homeowners and their heirs between roughly August 2017 and November 2019.
Tillman will pay more than $150,000 in restitution for his crimes. A district court judge also sentenced him Thursday to three years of parole following his release from prison.
The elaborate conspiracy is similar to another deed fraud case from earlier this year. In April, prosecutors charged Gwendolyn Schell, a notary public from Germantown, with forging documents to illegally transfer ownership of over 20 homes in Philadelphia. Like Tillman, she allegedly targeted properties with dead owners.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
