Scam Family Gets Off With Hand Slap After Pleading Guilty To Hijacking Home Titles By Filing False Deeds, Burglary, Rent Skimming

In San Diego, California, KSWB-TV Channel 5 reports:

• A real estate agent who filed a number of false deeds on foreclosed homes that did not belong to her, then rented them out to unwitting victims, was sentenced Monday to 332 days in custody and placed on three years probation.
  
  With credit for 192 days in jail, Dianne "Harmony'' Brown must serve another 70 days in custody, said Superior Court Judge Leo Valentine Jr. [...] Brown, 46, pleaded guilty to six counts, including burglary, filing a false instrument and rent-skimming.
  
  Her 48-year-old husband, Dexter Towance Brown, and 29-year-old son, Donavan Robbins, also pleaded guilty to rent-skimming as part of the scam. Dexter Brown, who has a lengthy criminal record, was sentenced [] to a year in jail. Robbins, described as a minor player in the scheme, had his 240-day jail sentence suspended as long as he successfully completes probation. [...] The defendants were ordered to pay more than $176,360 in restitution.
  
  Prosecutors said Dianne Brown targeted more than 30 South Bay homes in the scheme, claiming to be the owner of Prudent Constituents Association and Peerless Property Management.
  
  After recording the false deeds, the defendant would cut off Realtor lock boxes, break into the homes and have them re-keyed before renting them to victims, prosecutors said. She listed the homes on Craigslist and collected tens of thousands of dollars in rent.

For the story, see Woman rented out other's foreclosed homes sentenced.