St. Petersburg lawyer warns of title fraudsters stealing properties

St. Petersburg attorney Larry Silvestri is on a mission of sorts to spread the word about the threat people and businesses face to their properties.

The owner of his self-titled firm — Silvestri Law — is warning about how easy it can be for thieves to come in and steal a title to properties. Fraudsters, he says, simply file a deed on a property they don’t own and monetize it once the deed is recorded. The owner in most cases doesn’t even know it happened until bills start rolling in.