nd called session of the Legislature in 2025, created two new felony offenses: real property theft and real property fraud. SB16 also requires a person to present photo ID when filing a real property document at a county clerk office. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The lawsuits also come as Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth prepares to launch a free Property Alert System, which will notify users when a document is recorded under their name. Hudspeth told the Chronicle in July 2025 that her office had started developing a plan to set up the alert system. The first lawsuit, filed, Aug. 11, accuses Antia Martinez, David Carmona and five other defendants of being prolific perpetrators of deed fraud. They are accused of using fake names, deceiving notaries and conveying property back and forth between one another to hide their misdeeds, the county alleged in court records. Several of the defendants in Martinez's network have faced civil suits in the past over deed theft dating back to 2019, court records state. One of the defendants, Juan Guevara, has been previously convicted of felony theft, including several counts of theft of real estate, the lawsuit states. Only one defendant in the lawsuit against Martinez and others had an attorney as of Wednesday. The Chronicle left a message with the attorney. Another defendant in the Martinez case, David Garcia Garcia, is also accused of receiving the titles to properties stolen by Alba and Jarin Martinez, the couple who was ordered last year to pay $1.2 million in restitution to buyers who were swindled in fraudulent sales involving 40 properties the pair was accused of stealing through deed theft. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The second lawsuit, filed weeks later, accuses Mario Cavazos, Amelia Martinez and Maria Del Rosario Gonzalez-Garcia of engaging in an organized and broad scheme in which they allegedly forged the signatures of dead property owners and sold the stolen properties to unsuspecting buyers, court records state. Cavazos and his alleged partners have also faced several civil lawsuits over deed theft dating back to 2017, according to the lawsuit. One in the group, Amelia Martinez, pleaded guilty in 2021 to forging a financial document to defraud an elder, the lawsuit states. Martinez completed deferred adjudication for that charge, court records show. Cavazos and his alleged partners did not have attorneys listed in court records as of Wednesday. Keata Wade, whose family property was allegedly stolen by one of the networks the county is suing, said at a news conference Wednesday the theft happened right under (her family's) nose. Forged signatures and fake personas were used to sell Wade's deceased grandmother's lifelong home to new owners, she said. Today people we do not know are living in the family house that rightfully belongs to my family, Wade said Wednesday. This home is the property my grandmother purchased to remain in my family for years and for us to pass on for generations to come. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Kamin said the recent lawsuits stemmed from reports victims made to her office, which is something she is urging others who suspect they are in a similar boat to also do. The investigations into deed theft are complex, Kamin said, with one original complaint often leading to a web of stolen properties and alleged repeat offenders.