James and Lucretia Klucken say their nightmare began in 2019, when they started receiving letters about a $50,000 reverse mortgage debt tied to a home that had been in their family for generations.
James Klucken had been appointed power of attorney over the property after his grandmother died and said something about the documents didn’t look right.
That’s when the Kluckens say they discovered someone had forged his signature on the home’s warranty deed, transferring ownership without their knowledge or consent.
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“It’s heart-wrenching. This is the only place I’ve ever called home,” Lucretia Hughes-Klucken told Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln.
James and Lucretia Klucken lost their family home in Walton County. Now they’re suing.
The couple immediately filed a complaint with the Walton County Sheriff’s Office. However, investigators ultimately deemed the situation a civil matter, not criminal.
To support their claim, the Kluckens hired a handwriting expert, who concluded that the signature on the warranty deed did not match James Klucken’s real handwriting.
“It started as us trying to save our home,” said James Klucken. “And it ended in us losing it over forged documents.”
The home was foreclosed and eventually sold at auction despite the family warning authorities and the companies involved.
The Kluckens say Maverick Land Company LLC purchased the property despite being notified that the mortgage documents were allegedly fraudulent. They have since filed a civil lawsuit against Maverick and the mortgage company involved in the sale.
According to the Kluckens, Maverick offered them more than $300,000 to settle the dispute and avoid litigation, but James Klucken refused the offer, saying they want their family home returned.
The family also claims that during a court hearing, the closing attorney who notarized the forged deed appeared in court and was reportedly willing to testify that she witnessed James Klucken signing the paperwork. However, the Kluckens say she was allowed to leave the hearing without ever providing testimony under oath.
“All of the forgery and signatures were stamped on September 23, 2017,” James Klucken said. “None of this could’ve happened unless someone in authority stamped the paperwork and pushed it through.”
This all happened before Georgia passed a new law that now requires ID verification before making changes to a property deed, a safeguard the Kluckens say could have prevented their situation.
They’re now fighting to undo the sale and reclaim their property through the courts.
“We want to die in this house,” Lucretia Klucken said. “We want to give it to our children. We want to keep it in the family.”
The Kluckens started a fundraiser to help pay for legal expenses.
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