The Houston Police Department has filed charges against a man linked to a retired teacher who unknowingly signed away her home to him a few years ago.
Malcolm Pryor, a contractor hired by Wanda Jackson during the COVID-19 pandemic, was charged last Wednesday, March 13, with a second-degree felony of filing a false statement to obtain credit involving $150,000 to $300,000, local station KTRK reported on Monday.
During their investigation, police say they learned that he was falsifying bank documents that appeared to show over $75,000 in his account, according to the report. However, he only had under $300.
Things turned sour for Jackson last September when she was booted from her Houston residence, which she had lived in since the 1970s. This came after Jackson paid Pryor to do some repairs in her home based on a friend’s recommendation.
In 2021, Jackson fell ill and had to undergo therapy — a time she reportedly says she barely remembers. Pryor claimed she failed to pay him for his work, so he filed a mechanic lien. Unbeknownst to Jackson, she signed a warranty deed a year later, giving Pryor ownership of her home.
She was unaware that she was no longer the owner of 5119 Stuyvesant Lane, which had been passed through different owners for months. Documents obtained by KTRK show that Pryor initially sold her home for $50,000. He took out a loan from Noble Mortgage and repurchased it for $262,5000.
According to KTRK, he got approval by allegedly using fraudulent financial records. He never paid the mortgage lender, so Jackson’s home foreclosed, costing the company thousands. Jackson’s property was sold, and she was forced to move.
Pryor is facing charges because the lender lost money, not because he defrauded an elderly woman out of her home. A warranty has been issued, but Pryor has not been arrested.
Now Jackson is stuck paying $1,600 for a two bedroom apartment in Houston where rent prices have increased by 11 percent since 2022. She’s struggling to cover her monthly rent payments and wants answers on how to reconcile her situation.
She created a fundraiser to help retain a lawyer and pay mounting bills. “I lost EVERYTHING and I truly need help,” she pleads in GoFundMe request. “The unscrupulous act of these people, knew I was sick with COVID and they took advantage of me because of my age and my health.”
“All my things were just thrown out on the streets,” Jackson wrote. “My need is to raise $20,000 for legal bills & to pay or cover the bills that have occurred since I’ve been kicked out of my house.”
