The Voice • November 2017
A number of uninhabited properties in Milwaukee, WI have gone into foreclosure and one individual has taken it upon themselves to sell these properties claiming to represent a non-profit group called the Inner City Development Project, which now remains predominantly inactive. The person responsible for initiating each transaction was Gathan Anderson – who made claims to a number of individuals that he ran “a nonprofit [group] that bought and sold properties that had been foreclosed on by the city.” [1]
Anderson, a onetime real estate broker, had been barred from practicing real estate brokerage and lost his Wisconsin license. Although he was without a license, Anderson had filed numerous quitclaim deeds with the Milwaukee County Register of Deeds Office to gain ownership of various properties that were owned by private citizens, Chase Bank, and even the City of Milwaukee.
Recently, Robert Yorker was attempting to make a short-sale of his Milwaukee rental property when he discovered that the house had been unlawfully sold, twice, without his knowledge. It had been sold by Anderson through a quitclaim deed transaction, each time for the amount of $7,000. Yorker has since filed a lawsuit against Anderson and the unlawful occupants of the property for both actual and punitive damages. [1]
While Anderson has been arrested under suspicion of fraud, no charges have been filed against him.
In regards to the false quitclaims being recorded, the rightful owner could have benefited from subscribing to the Property Fraud Alert service, which will give direct notice to the subscriber if a document associated with the individual’s name is ever recorded.
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