A former notary public from the Philadelphia area is facing 31 charges in relation to an elaborate real estate fraud scheme that resulted in the theft of nearly two dozen properties, according to an announcement by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office (DAO).
District Attorney Larry Krasner and agents of his office’s Organized Retail and House Theft Task Force announced that Gwendolyn Schell of Germantown, Penn., is facing multiple charges for her role in an elaborate and pervasive criminal conspiracy. Schnell and her co-defendants are accused of fraudulently transferring nearly two dozen properties by forging the names of deceased individuals and unwitting living victims on deed transfers.
Schnell faces several felony charges, including criminal conspiracy, corrupt organizations, theft by deception, identity theft, forgery, tampering with records and more.
The arrest of and charges against Schell followed lengthy investigations beginning in January 2018 involving the Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia Office of the Inspector General, the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Records, and the DAO’s Economic Crimes Division.
On Jan. 26, 2018, the city’s Office of Inspector General received information about irregularities in house deed documents related to the defendant. In most of the recorded cases, Schell allegedly notarized documents falsely claiming transfers were approved by deceased owners.
Investigators found that most fraudulent deeds shared similar traits, including backdated dates, forged signatures, fake notarial stamps and altered property prices to avoid fair taxation. The stolen properties were distributed across the city of Philadelphia.
“Our office remains committed to holding accountable anyone involved in the persistent problem of house theft and deed fraud,” Krasner said in a press release. “I applaud Detectives Michael Wexler and Andrew Jackson, who are assigned to the DAO’s Economic Crimes Division under the leadership of Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Esack, as well as our partners with the Philadelphia Police Department, the Office of Inspector General, and other law enforcement entities for their meticulous investigation. These charges should send a message to anyone contemplating or actively involved in this type of fraud that you will be caught and appropriately prosecuted for this pernicious and outrageous activity.”
“A notary public is someone whose very job is to act as a gatekeeper to prevent fraud. Instead of doing that, Gwendolyn Schell not only allowed for fraud to occur but also actively engaged in and arranged for the theft of multiple properties here in our own communities,” Esack, supervisor of the DAO’s Economic Crimes Division, also said in the release. “The system of property transfer in Philadelphia cannot survive if we can no longer trust its participants, who are tasked with safeguarding the process. Gwendolyn Schell has broken that trust and will now be held accountable for that failure.”