Hip Hop Artist Alleges Forged Deed To Property In Baltimore Bankruptcy Court Proceeding; Seeks To Void Title Transfer

In Baltimore, Maryland, The Associated Press reports:

• Usually you wouldn't think of a member of Salt-N-Pepa being shy at all in front of an open mic. But when the mic is on a witness stand at a court in Baltimore and the issue is money, you can understand why Sandra "Pepa" Denton said she was a little nervous. The judge told her to "take a deep breath and relax" to calm her nerves.

• Denton was in court in a case that pits her against her ex-husband and his new wife over a property sale. She claims Emora Horton bought the home in Baltimore after a friend forged a signature on a deed. Denton wants the property returned to her. The defendants deny taking part in any fraud or forgery. A ruling is expected in January.

Source: Member of Salt-N-Pepa in Court.

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See also, The Maryland Daily Record, which reported:

• Whether Denton will get that property back, with or without liens, turns on the legal distinction between fraud and forgery, lawyers in the case say. “It really lives or dies on the forgery issue,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert A. Gordon said to Denton’s attorney, J. Michael Broumas.

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• Attorneys for the entities that made loans [secured by the property] argue [the deed signer's] actions instead constitute fraud [as opposed to forgery], since [the deed signer] signed his own name and made no attempt to conceal his identity. Under such a scenario, the property might still be Denton’s but would come with the lenders’ considerable liens, Broumas said. [...] Judge Gordon said his own research centered on a case out of the District of Columbia, McNairy v. Baxter, in which a forged limited power of attorney document made a subsequent deed ineffective.

For more, see:

• Rapper ends hearing with hugs, tears (Property still at issue, but Pepa lets ex-rival’s debt go); and
• Singer claims ex-husband pushed her into investing in Baltimore property.