FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A South Florida man is accused of posing as a dead woman's grandson so that he could steal her home and sell it.
Braden Emdin, 38, of Fort Lauderdale, was arrested in August on multiple charges, including grand theft, fraud and filing false documents.
According to a Broward Sheriff's Office probable cause affidavit, Emdin filed false documentation with the Broward County property appraiser's office claiming that the owner of the Tamarac home "bequeathed her estate to him."
Among the false documentation submitted was the woman's will, Emdin's birth certificate and an affidavit of affirmation that Emdin inherited the property.
An investigation began when Detective Joseph Sommovigo, who was assigned to investigate deed fraud, learned of a complaint filed by the dead woman's son.
According to the South Florida SunSentinel, which first reported the arrest, Emdin had been living in the home and was trying to sell it for about a half-million dollars when he was arrested.
The newspaper reported that Emdin submitted bogus documentation supporting his claims that the homeowner wanted her "grandson" to have the house upon her death "so that he would have a place to make his own."
According to the probable cause affidavit, Emdin initiated several telephone calls and emails with employees at the property appraiser's office and title company "in an attempt to deceive them into believing that he was the rightful heir to said property."
However, Emdin's plan was foiled on Aug. 17 after he showed up at the title company in Cooper City to sign a warranty deed "fraudulently indicating that said property belonged to him and he had the authority to transfer ownership of said property."
Emdin was arrested and taken to jail.