Unlicensed Title agent defrauds clients of $400K

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 41-year-year old woman is accused of taking $391,000 in escrow funds from property owners in both Duval and Nassau counties, according to the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud.

Kristine Ann Spahr was arrested on one count of organized scheme to defraud, a first-degree felony.

Investigators said she illegally operated an insurance company, Signature Title and Trust LLC, even though she had forfeited her title agency license in 2014.

State investigators found that on at least seven separate occasions Spahr defrauded her clients by keeping their real estate escrow funds and failing to provide them with the title insurance coverage in which they had paid purchased. Of the seven fraudulent transactions, two victim’s homes had prior mortgages that were not paid off from the escrow accounts and were facing foreclosure while unpaid federal and county tax liens were not paid off in several of the other victim’s real estate closings.

Kristine Spahr was booked into the Nassau County Jail. If convicted, Spahr faces up to 15 years in prison.