A Georgia man has been arrested on mortgage fraud and identity theft charges for allegedly posing as his own missing brother to sell his house.
Kenneth Lee Harris, 62, was jailed in Cobb County, GA, earlier this month, just days after he allegedly closed a deal to sell his brother Ted Harris’ three-bedroom ranch house in Powder Springs, GA.
According to Kenneth’s arrest warrant, first cited by news station WSB-TV, the suspect managed to convince everyone involved in the transaction that he was actually his older brother, even showing Ted’s driver’s license as proof.
Kenneth’s mug shot and Ted’s photos shared on his Facebook page, which has displayed no new posts since late January, confirm a striking resemblance between the two siblings, with both men in their 60s.
Family members reportedly told WSB-TV that they have 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, coming in just under its $199,000 initial asking price.
Ted Harris’ neighbors say that he is an avid gardener and has been known to share his homegrown vegetables with people in the community.
“He’s great,” neighbor Denyel Davis told WSB-TV. “He kind of helped everybody out with his extras.”
However, neighbors 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.
Davis said her confusion only grew when she spotted a “for sale” sale briefly go up in her neighbor’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 finalized, his relatives filed a missing persons report, according to the warrant.
Just before 10 p.m. that same day, Kenneth was arrested and booked into the county jail on felony 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.
Neighbor 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 attorney 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.
