6 September 11 - 17, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents which already total in the thousands. No criminal charges have been filed against Junior, and the family hasn’t heard from him since his last release from prison in January. Though they’ve tried reporting the fraud to the Dallas Police Department, they’ve been told it’s only a civil case, ac- cording to Cristo, and have been directed to the county sheriff’s office for future re- porting. Fraud cases typically fall under the jurisdiction of the county sheriff, but the family has not contacted the depart- ment yet, as they admittedly have little faith in the authorities. They are also still learning the legal process and worry it may complicate ongoing litigation, and would prefer to retain their house without having to send Junior to jail. “Either way, I think if the police investi- gated this and whoever is involved is con- victed tomorrow, we still wouldn’t get our house back,” said Cristo. “That’s all we want. We don’t want revenge. We just want our house back. So if we get our house back and no one is convicted, that’s fine with us.” The family is not sure where Junior is liv- ing, what he’s doing, or how he’s affording anything, though they suspect he’s some- how cashed a check with more than four ze- ros recently; otherwise, Cristo says, he would have been begging for money like he usually does. “I did talk to him about that a while back,” Cristo said about his older brother. “He would reach out to us when he had no money. We haven’t heard from him since January. So he has money. Otherwise, he would reach out to us.” The Observer contacted the phone num- ber last associated with Junior several times, but was unable to get a response. Duke Re- alty & Asset Management did not respond to our calls. A spokesperson for Konikoff Con- nection refused to comment. Not All Hope Should Be Lost C risto and his family still struggle to believe what has happened to them, but it’s happening at an alarming rate in Dallas.. Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Phillip Clark told the Texas Tri- bune in August that 100 properties had al- ready been involved in deed fraud this year. A bill filed by Dallas Sen. Royce West in the regular session, Senate Bill 648, would have changed procedures for deed transfers, re- quiring the presence of an attorney, a title agent or a similar service provider, while providing much stricter protections. But it was one of the 28 bills Gov. Greg Abbott ve- toed at the end of this year’s regular session. “No one disputes that title theft and deed fraud are serious problems,” wrote the gov- ernor. “... Although Senate Bill No. 648 seeks to strengthen protections, it does so by im- posing barriers that will burden low-income Texans, rural residents, and those handling family land without legal assistance.” Abbott added the item to the end of the special session agenda, and with the support of Dallas Rep. Rafael Anchia, West filed an- other deed fraud bill. Senate Bill 16 makes real property theft and fraud felony crimes with added penalties when perpetrated against the elderly, disabled or a nonprofit organization. The law also requires the pre- sentation of a photo identification to a county clerk before a deed can be trans- ferred. The bill passed both chambers unani- mously and is awaiting Abbott’s signature. “Today’s vote is a big win for every Texan who has lost their home to deed fraud,” An- chia said in a press release on August 26, the day of the final House vote. “We worked with law enforcement and victims to deliver the strongest protections in Texas history, making deed fraud a crime with real conse- quences and giving families the tools to de- fend what’s rightfully theirs - the roof over their heads.” Assistant District Attorney Clark said at a press conference before the final House vote that the latest bill is part of an ongoing effort to tackle deed fraud. With supporting bills passed in other sessions, it provides prosecu- tors with the necessary tools to secure crimi- nal verdicts while still streamlining the civil processes for a homeowner to prove fraud. “Ultimately, if a case comes to me as a prosecutor in a criminal court and we secure a conviction against a defendant for deed fraud, that doesn’t actually return the prop- erty title to the victim. Several of the ele- ments the regulations in this bill help to address that,” Clark said. “...More impor- tantly, it allows a victim to take that docu- ment to a civil court as evidence that there was fraud, and they’re asking the court to re- view this evidence in these documents and nullify them or declare them void or fraudu- lent.” Joining Rep. Anchia and Clark at the press conference was Robert Brown, the chairman of the board at First Christian Church in Lancaster. In 2019, the church was stolen by a known fraudster. It took two years to finally rectify the church title and return to services, and in May 2024, Clark secured a conviction for the perpetrator, who is now serving a 35-year sentence. “I cannot tell you how much of a night- mare it was,” Brown said. “I appreciate all of [Anchia, West, and Clark], in getting this legislation passed, because it is dearly needed. This is a terrible, terrible crime that is committed.” Vulnerable populations serve as the per- fect targets for fraudsters. The church was lucky enough to receive pro-bono legal sup- port, but most people at the center of deed fraud don’t have the resources to afford the several thousand dollars that years-long liti- gation can take. “Robert [Brown] had a long road,” An- chia said. “But if he didn’t have pro bono le- gal support, if he didn’t have… a county clerk that was already astute on this issue, it would have been not two years, it might have been 10 years, or the statute of limita- tion may have run already. Because often- times, these folks just don’t have the money to hire an attorney, don’t have the time or the ability or the agency to figure out who to go to.” Many times, like the Mendozas, an owner doesn’t know they’ve lost their property rights until well after the transfer has al- ready happened. It might take several more years before a fraudster decides to sell, wait- ing out the statute of limitations, which will be extended from five to 10 years if SB 16 is signed into law. Dallas County is acutely aware of the threat of deed fraud, and it runs a free alert system that notifies registered homeowners if their name or entity name is used in any real property filing, so long as the property is registered within the system. The Mendoza family wishes they had known about the service earlier, but they are disenchanted with the pursuit of criminal charges, having been told it’s a civil matter by the police de- partment so many times. But Clark says even if he can’t personally expedite the return of a home, pursuing criminal charges, especially under the new law, will be well worth it. “[They] are not without hope,” Clark told Observer. “It is a civil case, but it is also a crime. … These cases have a solution in a civil court, but all of that is true for many other crimes. The new law will make it ab- solutely abundantly clear ... to help law en- forcement investigators understand the criminal nature of this, despite the fact that it’s signatures and paper, and despite the fact that there’s a lawsuit that could be filed. This is a crime.” A Broken Home T he Mendoza household is a warm one. Every inch is covered with mem- ories of the last three decades. Pic- tures of grandchildren and every high school graduation and collages of pets that have passed away will leave rectangular light spots on the walls if the family is forced to pack up their things and go. For now, crosses hanging on the wall will echo Mrs. Mendoza’s tearful late-night prayers, plead- ing with the higher powers for the end of this all. Martin Sr. would like to forgive his son one day and even welcome him back into the home that he believes Junior stole. Cristo has less room left in his heart for his trou- bled brother. “I wouldn’t let him here,” said Cristo. “I guess [my dad] wants to talk to him, but I just don’t. I see what he did to [my dad] and to my mom, and to my sister. I don’t Unfair Park from p4 Nathan Hunsinger Cristo Mendoza stands outside his family’s craftsman bungalow on Fairway Avenue in Southeast Dallas. >> p8
