Fort Worth

Second Fort Worth Family Fights Back After Scam Signed Away Their Home

FW eviction
NBC 5 News

After a Fort Worth man says he lost his home because he unknowingly signed it away, another family says they almost ended up in the same situation all thanks to a single document giving ownership to the same couple.

Hoang Nguyen, an elderly Vietnamese man, said he was told to sign a document to give some good samaritans permission to clean up his junk filled yard.

Instead, it was something called a quitclaim deed that quickly transferred ownership to a couple he'd just met. And the same day they filed it, they filed a second one for a different Fort Worth address.   

That home on Hardeman Street has been home to the Tutt family for more than 40 years, led by their patriarch 81-year-old Willie Tutt. 

"Only way I'm leaving is going to be feet first," said Willie Tutt. 

That's why it was peculiar when Tutt's son Fitzgerald said they got an eviction notice over the summer.

"We didn't know nothing about it until she sent us a notice that my daddy had 30 days to move out," said Fitzgerald Tutt.

It turns out that on May 31, a quitclaim deed was filed.

A quitclaim is a document that transfers ownership with just a signature and notary, giving the Tutts' home to Armentha and Ebrima Faye in exchange for just $100.

But Fitzgerald said though the couple is related to the family through marriage, they don't know them and weren't aware the document had been signed until they saw his youngest brother, Michael's, signature.

According to Fitzgerald, Michael isn't mentally competent. 

"She had my brother sign a quitclaim deed, because he don't know how to read that well or write," said Fitzgerald.

That deed was filed the exact same day the Faye's filed one for Hoang Nguyen's home, which eventually got him evicted. 

"I was surprised she did this to someone else," said Fitzgerald. 

But unlike Nguyen, the Tutts were able to fight back in an eviction hearing, getting the deed back in the family's name and saving their home.

Earlier this week Armentha Faye denied the claims Nguyen made to NBC 5, saying she didn't force anyone to sign anything.

NBC 5 attempted to get a new response from her regarding the Tutt case, but calls went unanswered. And when we went to her most recent address, we were asked to leave.  

Since sharing Hoang Nguyen's story a couple of days ago, a pro bono attorney has stepped up to help his family fight the quitclaim deed in civil court.

The Tarrant County District Attorney's office has also announced it's launching a criminal investigation into Nguyen's case.

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