This three-bedroom home sold in early April and is at the centre of a criminal case involving two brothers.
A man managed to sell his brother’s house after convincing everyone he was actually his older sibling.
Kenneth Lee Harris allegedly closed the deal on his brother’s three-bedroom home in the US before finally being caught out by authorities.
The 62-year-old was eventually arrested on mortgage fraud and identity theft.
According to Kenneth’s arrest warrant, he managed to convince everyone involved in the transaction that he was actually his older brother Ted Harris and even showed Ted’s driver’s license as proof.
Family members reportedly told media they had not heard from Ted for more than two months, which in itself was not out of character for him. However, they became concerned when they learned that his home had been sold.
Property records obtained by Realtor.com® reveal that the three-bedroom, one-bathroom ranch-style house on Ponderosa Lane in Powder Springs sold on April 7 for $185,000 (AUD $258,000), coming in just under its $199,000 (AUD $277,000) initial asking price.
Ted’s neighbours say that he is an avid gardener and has been known to share his homegrown vegetables with people in the community.
“He’s great,” neighbour Denyel Davis told local media. “He kind of helped everybody out with his extras.”
However, neighbours said at some point they noticed that Ted had stopped taking care of his garden and yard, and mowing the lawn, which struck them as odd.
Even stranger was seeing a professional mowing crew and a landscaper working on the property, a concerning development considering that yardwork and gardening were Ted’s great passions.
Ted Harris (left) has not been seen since January. His brother, Kenneth Harris, (right) has been accused of impersonating Ted to sell his house. Picture: Supplied
Davis said her confusion only grew when she spotted a “for sale” sale briefly go up in her neighbour’s yard.
“It was just up one day and shortly after it was down,” recalled the woman.
On April 10, three days after the sale of Ted’s home was finalised, his relatives filed a missing persons report, according to the warrant.
Just before 10pm that same day, Kenneth was arrested and booked into the county jail on charges of identity theft fraud and violation of the Georgia Residential Mortgage Fraud Act. Each count carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
Neighbour Julia Davis recalled previously seeing Kenneth in his brother’s backyard and mistaking him for Ted, but she said something seemed off about him.
“He was just in the backyard all day. He didn’t really, like, talk, like he didn’t really say anything,” she told a reporter.
As of Wednesday, Kenneth Harris remains detained without bond, according to jail records. No lawyer is currently listed in his case.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Ted Harris remain unknown. Realtor.com reached out to the Cobb County Police Department seeking further comment on the investigation.
It is unclear at this time whether Kenneth Harris will face any additional charges in connection with his brother’s disappearance.
The duped buyer of Ted Harris’ home has not been publicly named. She may be able to recover her funds, but that is not guaranteed and could depend on whether she had title insurance, which covers losses from fraudulent transfers.
English (US) · 