A Texas senior citizen says she was booted from her Houston residence that she has occupied since 1977, although she doesn’t recall putting the property up for sale.
Wanda Jackson was unexpectedly kicked out of her Houston residence in September 2023. During an in-depth interview with KTRK, Jackson said she had no plans of leaving her home, which notably underwent some repairs a few years back.
Jackson hired a man named Malcom Pryor who came at the recommendation of a friend to complete the work at the start of the pandemic. She paid him out of pocket for his efforts, she told the station.
A year later, she became sick for an extended amount of time after contracting COVID-19. Throughout this time, Jackson was going to therapy “to learn to walk again” and does not recall much from her recovery, according to the report.
Things took a turn when the contractor accused her of not paying for the repairs. First, he filed a mechanic’s lien. Records reportedly show shortly afterward Jackson transferred the deed to her home to Pryor.
Jackson told the outlet that she didn’t know she signed it away in September 2022 or that she was no longer the owner of the property located at 5119 Stuyvesant Lane. Her home was swapped between several owners under her nose for the next few months.
Based on documentation viewed by KTRK, Pryor sold her house to a local investor for $50,000. About five months later, he took out a loan from Noble Mortgage and got it back for $262,500.
Due to failing to make the payments, the local mortgage lender foreclosed on the home, per the outlet. She finally learned what was going on after receiving notice last April that the home was in foreclosure and she’s have to move.
Now she is struggling financially and living in an apartment close by.
To make matters worse, another home that Jackson inherited from her deceased mother located in Marshall, Texas, is also not owned by Jackson anymore. She claimed Pryor said he would do repairs there too.
The Houston Police Department is investigating the matter, although it’s unclear if anyone would be charged. A financial crimes investigator informed KTRK that scammers usually target older adults.
“The suspect usually would take advantage of the elderly person because they know they may be living alone,” HPD’s Esminda Gomez-Nicholas told the news station. “They know there may not be a family member around, and they may take advantage of them.”
In 2021, 66-year-old Claude Frye was evicted from his Florida home after unknowingly signing over his deed to a man, Thomas Brinson, for $10. At the time, he was struggling to pay his mortgage after his mother passed away. Brinson sold it to a real estate investor who was able to sell it for $185,000 to a buyer in New York.
Last year, Tom Roy was charged for attempting to sell the home of an 86-year-old “bedridden” woman for $500,000 by using fake documentation and pretending to be her son, per the Miami-Dade police.
Although the chances are slim, Jackson is optimistic that she will get her home back. She hired an attorney to help with her eviction case, but her fight wasn’t successful. The retired teacher also needs extra funds to get through the process. Her home is now in the hands of another investor.
“I’m mad at everybody concerned,” Jackson said during the interview. “It was more than [Pryor] who had something to do with this. You do not walk around to take people’s property just because you can.”
