Four Charlotte properties among 19 sites linked to bogus deeds scheme, feds say

A Tennessee woman is headed to prison for her role in a multi-state deed scam that including four properties in Charlotte, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

The scheme involved 19 properties valued at more than $1.4 million, federal officials said in a July 14 news release.

Alicia, England, 33, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, and was sentenced to 75 months in prison (just over six years), officials said. She was also ordered to pay more than $300,000 as restitution.

England’s scheme caused “significant emotional distress and financial hardship” for the victims, prosecutors said.

“Filing fake deeds and stealing identities can wreak havoc on a victim’s life,” according to Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. “England left a trail of victims forced to deal with the aftermath of her crimes — for that, she will pay the price.”

England ran the scheme between October 2022 and August 2024, using stolen identities “to open bank accounts, file fraudulent deeds, and enter into real estate sales for properties she did not actually own,” federal officials said.

“In some cases, she also forged the signatures of notaries, while in others she used fake identifications. She then sold or attempted to sell the properties to third parties through various platforms, including Facebook Marketplace,” prosecutors said.

Once properties were sold, England arranged for the money to be wired to bank accounts she controlled, “including accounts in her own name ... and in the names of other identity theft victims,” officials said.

Some of the identities belonged to people who were deceased, officials said.