Two Women Accused of Stealing Six Houses

Scheme involved fraudulent title transfers, indictments say

Two Dallas-area women have been indicted on charges they stole six houses in a scheme involving fraudulent title transfers.

Edith Noemy Garcia Chavez, 40, of Mesquite, and Lydia Bent, 45, of Sunnyvale, were indicted last week by a Dallas County grand jury on charges of theft of property over $200,000, a first-degree felony punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison.

Three of the houses involved are in Dallas and the other three in Balch Springs.

NBC 5 Investigates reported in November that Garcia was accused of stealing one of the Balch Springs homes by filing a fraudulent title transfer with the Dallas County Clerk and selling the house to an unsuspecting buyer for cash.

“My house was stolen without me knowing,” said the original owner, Delta Oldfield.

Oldfield lived in the house for more than 30 years before she moved out several years ago to take care of her ill parents. She didn’t realize someone else had bought the house until after they had changed the locks and made renovations, she said.

Garcia and Bent are also named in a lawsuit claiming they fraudulently sold another house they did not own in Garland.

Neither woman could be reached for comment Tuesday.

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