Notary public facing felony charges for alleged role in years-long house theft scheme

Philadelphia DA announces charges against a 67-year-old notary public for her alleged role in a prolific, years-long house theft scheme.

NORTH PHILADELPHIA - Gathered on a busy corner in North Philadelphia, DA Larry Krasner announced 67-year-old notary public Gwendolyn Schell is charged with stealing house. Lots of them. Often while people were living in them.

And, houses that were stolen were then turned around and sold, making more victims with the same crime.

"The property’s flipped. Innocent victims may buy the property, etc.," Jim Leonard, Commissioner with Philadelphia Department of Records, stated.

"The tangled title within can become a real mess," Krasner said.

What we know:

With buyers being told they don’t own the house, even with a mortgage still on it that they still owe on.

DA Krasner showed a list of 21 homes throughout the city stolen, he says, by a notary public who is supposed to be a safeguard against any official document fraud.

Some of the homes were vacant, while others had families living in them.

One such buyer, Ruthie Bennett, put money into fixing the property up, her son explained, "She fixed it up pretty good."

Leonard continued, "Now not only do you have a victim - two victims - the original owner the innocent buyer, but that innocent buyer also has a mortgage, so there's a lender involved. So that you can see that it just becomes more complex."

What they're saying:

Homeowner Roi Greene stated, "There needs to be more education on how we can protect ourselves and our properties from these types on instances."

Greene was alarmed to hear how a couple houses near his were on the list stolen, saying, "People worked all their lives to acquire the things they have and for so robe to come out and just scam ‘em. It's horrible and to take advantage of people, it’s terrible. And by the time they figure it out, there's tons of money already taken out of the property or the property been swept on set their feet."

What's next:

Officials recommend homeowners go to the city’s website to register for Fraud Guard, which they say will alert you of anyone trying to steal your house.

Krasner added, "To protect home ownership, to protect our seniors, to protect people who don’t have all the resources in the world from fraudsters, grifters, thieves, no-good lying notary publics."

Crime & Public Safety Philadelphia News