Maine Senate sends Sen. Ingwersen bill to combat deed fraud to Governor's desk

AUGUSTA — Yesterday, the Maine Senate passed LD 353, “Resolve, to Establish the Commission to Recommend Methods for Preventing Deed Fraud in the State,” a bill sponsored by Sen. Henry Ingwersen, D-Arundel. The bill aims to protect Maine property owners and prospective buyers from scammers who impersonate property owners and conduct cyber fraud schemes to fraudulently sell homes or land they do not own.

“Mainers continue to be victimized by deed fraud and with the increasing sophistication of AI, it will only get worse,” said Sen. Ingwersen. “It’s clear that action must be taken and forming this commission will allow folks to take a deep dive into this complicated crime in order to come up with recommendations for preventing deed fraud and protecting Maine people.”

LD 353 would create a commission comprised of legislators, a registrar of deeds, a title attorney, the Attorney General’s office, law enforcement and other stakeholders to gather information on the practice and prevalence of deed fraud in Maine. The commission will present its findings to the Judiciary Committee by the end of this year.

“In seller impersonator and other forms of deed theft scams, the victims do absolutely nothing and there is no way to stop the scammers,” said York County Sherrif William King in testimony supporting LD 353. “Because so much of our information is available ‘online’ the thief is able to harvest enough information to contact an unsuspecting real estate agent and request that they list the property. It has occurred dozens of times that I am aware of.”

LD 353 now goes to the Governor’s desk for her signature.