Sarita Kerr, a resident of Dangriga is a victim of a very cruel kind of land fraud - where fraudsters have been using her dead father's name to steal his estate.
Her father Catharino Ramirez, died in 1987, but, still, in 2009, his signature was forged to transfer his land title to two other people.
Because it is a sensitive case where people being accused of fraud, are not under police investigation, and also because Kerr hasn't made a police report yet, we cannot reveal their identities at this time. We do have their names and signatures on the documents, however.
The documents we have say that in 2009, Ramirez, who, at that time, had been dead for 22 years, sold the land to these people for $8,000 dollars.
The conveyance is complete with signatures, stamps, witnesses and the Lands Department seals.
Kerr says that when she discovered this, she went to Lands Department and a few days after she started investigating, another deed of conveyance was drawn up to sell the land back to Ramirez.
This set things right and Kerr didn't bother reporting the matter to police. But when she went back weeks later, she realized that a third document had been drafted up saying that her dead father had sold it back to one of these people! That person still has ownership.
She told us today that she is tired of being pushed around by the employees at the Lands Department - whom she suspects are complicit. She went to the Legal Aid Office in Belize looking for some help and spoke to us today because she doesn't know what else to do:..
Sarita Kerr, Land Fraud Victim
"My father died in 1987 and he had a parcel of land at a reserve in Dangriga Town. When we went to look after the land it was sold in 2007. I went to Belmopan to inquire about land but I've been push around for a couple of years now."
"I have no other alternative than to come here."
Daniel Ortiz
"I understand also that when you started investigating initially there was quick land document setup to transfer the land back into your father's name. Can you talk to us about that?"
Sarita Kerr, Land Fraud Victim
"When I went to inquire about the land, a few weeks after that I went back to lands department and I found out that the land was put back in my dad's name and then it was bought again."
Daniel Ortiz
"So, these people have been forging these documents; your dad's signature? Because a man is dead for years now and so they are literally doing this corrupt practice to try to deprive you of this piece of land."
Sarita Kerr, Land Fraud Victim
"That's what they are doing."
We tried to contact the Lands Department this evening, but we couldn't get through.
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