Stealing Homes with Paperwork: Palm Beach County’s Growing Property Fraud Crisis
With private property increasingly under attack, Palm Beach County Clerk Mike Caruso is pushing back with new safeguards aimed at stopping the fraud before families lose everything.
A silent crime wave is sweeping through Palm Beach County—quietly targeting one of the things Floridians hold dearest, their homes. Deed theft and property fraud have escalated at a pace that should alarm every homeowner, especially seniors who believed owning their home outright meant they were safe.
In recent weeks, Palm Beach County officials have launched new public awareness campaigns featuring Mike Caruso, Clerk of the Court and Comptroller. The message is simple: homeowners need to pay attention to a growing threat many never saw coming.
According to data from the State Attorney’s Office, Palm Beach County went from just four deed theft prosecutions in 2023 to 184 cases in 2025. Officials now warn the number could climb as high as 800 cases this year. This isn’t a paperwork glitch or a clerical error problem. This is organized, calculated theft. In many cases, homeowners don’t realize anything is wrong until their land or home has already been sold.
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Criminals are using artificial intelligence and sophisticated data-mining software to identify vulnerable property owners. Fraudsters primarily target seniors over the age of 65, particularly those who own their homes outright, have no mortgage, or hold vacant or inherited property. With just a few clicks, fraudsters can determine who lives where. They can also see a homeowner’s age and whether a property is likely to be closely monitored. From there, forged deeds, fake identification, and fraudulent filings do the rest.
The human cost is devastating. One Boca Raton family has spent years trying to reclaim land stolen through a forged signature and a fake driver’s license. The thief sold the property to a third party for hundreds of thousands of dollars, leaving the rightful owners trapped in a civil court nightmare. Even when victims ultimately prevail, the process often incurs tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. For many families, especially retirees on fixed incomes, justice comes at a price they can barely afford.
This is not just happening here. Clerks across Florida report the same trend, with deed theft now described as the number one issue destroying lives statewide. But Palm Beach County residents are seeing something uncommon in government: a public official who is not downplaying the problem or burying it in bureaucracy.
In person. Face-to-face. It’s one of the ways we are Here to Help residents sign up for Property Fraud Alerts. That’s where we were today at High Point of Delray Beach.
Want Clerk Mike Caruso to help your HOA’s residents get protected? Reach out to us – https://t.co/sEWGwCCtR4 pic.twitter.com/OuJmSDsisN
— Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller (@ClerkPBC) January 13, 2026
Since being appointed last year, Mike Caruso, Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts and Comptroller, has taken a direct and forceful approach to protecting homeowners. Caruso has called deed theft what it is—an epidemic—and has made clear that allowing criminals to steal homes through paperwork fraud is unacceptable. Rather than waiting for victims to discover the damage after the fact, his office launched a free Property Fraud Alert system designed to stop theft before it becomes irreversible.
Caruso did not come into the role without experience. Before his appointment, he served seven years in the Florida House of Representatives, representing Palm Beach County communities and building a reputation as a detail-oriented lawmaker focused on accountability and fiscal responsibility. A certified public accountant by trade, Caruso worked at major accounting firms and later ran his own forensic accounting practice, gaining hands-on experience in tracking financial misconduct and fraud—skills that translate directly to overseeing public records and taxpayer safeguards.
During his time in Tallahassee, Caruso chaired key oversight committees responsible for auditing and government accountability. That background helps explain why, as Clerk and Comptroller, he has focused less on optics and more on prevention: tightening systems, modernizing alerts, and making sure residents have real-time access to information about their own property.
Thieves are no longer satisfied with stealing the stuff in your home. Now they want to steal your home itself. This property deed scam is rising at exponential rates and is becoming an epidemic. We need to stop this now. It’s going to take every property owner signing up for property fraud alerts, in order to stop these criminals, and remember, protect your title, protect your future. When in doubt, don’t give your info out.
The response from homeowners has been swift. In just six weeks, nearly 10,000 property owners signed up for alerts that notify them immediately if someone accesses or files paperwork connected to their property. Caruso has emphasized that early detection makes the difference between stopping a crime in its tracks and spending years in court trying to undo it. Palm Beach County homeowners can enroll directly through the clerk’s office at https://erec.mypalmbeachclerk.com/FraudAlert.
This is the government doing what it should: protecting citizens, respecting private property, and utilizing modern tools to counter contemporary threats. It’s also a reminder that while criminals can abuse technology, it can also be used to defend law-abiding Americans when leaders choose action over indifference.
Law enforcement has tied some local suspects to broader, multi-state fraud networks. Investigators believe at least one individual has connections to similar crimes across the Southeast. These are not isolated bad actors. They are exploiting weak safeguards, slow systems, and the assumption that no one is watching.
Palm Beach County homeowners should be watching now. Property fraud is no longer rare, and it’s no longer something that happens to “someone else.” Seniors, longtime residents, and families who did everything right are being targeted precisely because they followed the rules and trusted the system.
Caruso’s efforts won’t fix everything overnight, but they represent a clear stand: the people who built this county, paid their taxes, and played by the rules deserve protection—not excuses.
The warning signs are there, the tools exist, and in Palm Beach County right now, having someone in office who’s paying attention makes all the difference.
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