(Trinidad Express) How was a dead woman able to sell a parcel of land in Trinidad years after her death?
This is the question being asked by United Kingdom resident Nick Coulson, who is calling on local authorities to investigate a Chaguanas-based attorney for fraud and negligence.
According to Coulson, the attorney facilitated the sale of the land to a person posing as his wife’s dead mother, and was even able to register the fraudulent deed at the Registrar General’s department, transferring ownership to a buyer who paid $100,000—far below the market value—for the parcel of land.
Coulson, whose wife is a Trinidad citizen, told the Sunday Express the parcel of land initially belonged to his wife’s mother, and was willed to his wife upon her mother’s death in 2011.
The land was legally transferred to his wife’s name in 2012, according to information on a title search.
However, in 2017 a person claiming to be his wife’s mother turned up at an attorney’s office in Trinidad, with a buyer, and successfully sold the parcel of land.
The attorney facilitated the sale without doing any title search or receiving any real proof that the seller was who they said they were, he said, adding that had a title search been done, the attorney would have realised that the person could not possibly be his wife’s mother, as the woman was listed as deceased on the title search.
Nevertheless, the sale was conducted, and a fraudulent deed was executed on February 24, 2017, and registered the following year.
The deed carries the signature of the dead woman, signed more than six years after her death.
Cautionary tale
Coulson and his wife had no knowledge of the fraudulent sale until they attempted to sell the land themselves.
“When we tried to sell the property, a deed was sent over, saying somebody else owned it,” he said.
Coulson said they took the buyer listed on the deed to court, but the buyer said he had also been defrauded and did not know that he purchased the land from a fraudster.
The matter was reported to the Fraud Squad, which has been conducting investigations.
After three years and much money spent in the legal process, the Coulsons were finally able to reclaim the land and have the title transferred back to their names.
Coulson says the attorney should face repercussions for conducting the sale without following proper procedure, and should be investigated by the Law Association.
However, he said when he reported the attorney to the Law Association, he was told that because he was not the person who hired the attorney, he could not make a complaint against him.
He said he also reported the matter to the Financial Intelligence Unit, but never got a reply.
Coulson said he was astounded that someone could simply walk into an attorney’s office, with no identification and no proof of ownership, and sell property that did not belong to them, and he speculated that the attorney may have been a willing participant in the fraud.
He said he was coming forward with his story as a cautionary tale to others to be careful when purchasing land and dealing with attorneys.
“In Trinidad, you seem to have all the right rules and regulations, but nobody bothers with them. This should not have happened,” he said.
“The attorney should have done a search. He didn’t do it. That’s against the rules, but nothing has happened. He is still happily trading and doing what he does. Even the Law Association was not interested in one of their attorneys not obeying the rules.
“And this is why you have so much land fraud in Trinidad and Tobago. The fraud just carries on and carries on because there are no consequences for anyone.”
Chote: Lodge a complaint
When contacted, Law Association president Sophia Chote said Coulson may go to the office of the Clerk to the Disciplinary Committee, at the Hall of Justice, and make a complaint against the attorney.
Coulson, however, lamented that he regularly sees land fraud issues, similar to his, reported in local news, and it pains him to see how rampant it is.
Just last month, High Court Judge Frank Seepersad, in ruling on a similar case, expressed alarm at the frequency of land fraud claims.
Seepersad called for the proclamation of the 2020 Registration of Deeds Act (RDA), saying it is a matter of urgency.
“It is just so easy to commit land fraud in Trinidad and Tobago. It is almost laughable,” Coulson said.
“Every story I read about fraud in Trinidad makes my blood boil in rage. It is a stain on the nation’s reputation and gives it that most deadly economic reputation, that of an unsafe country to do business.”
Coulson said it was also disturbing that the land registry in Trinidad registered the deed seemingly without making the most basic checks, and he wondered how many fraudulent deeds have been registered, no questions asked.
He said he is determined to continue pursuing the matter despite receiving death threats over the years.
He is now considering filing a civil case against the attorney.
“I will not let this drop, can’t, won’t. Ignoring it is not going to make this go away,” he said.
The Sunday Express was unable to reach the attorney for comment.
