A Shocking Discovery
Sheila Gibson, a 69-year-old woman from Sandy Springs, Georgia, was left in disbelief when she received an eviction notice for the home she legally owned. Having lived in the house for years, she never expected to be told she was being removed from her property.
In December 2022, Gibson arrived at her home to find an official eviction notice from the Fulton County Marshal’s Department. Her family had purchased the house for $480,000 in 2020, so she was certain she did not owe rent to anyone.
Fraudulent Filing Exposes Loophole
An investigation revealed that a scammer had gone to the Fulton County Clerk’s Office and falsely filed paperwork claiming Gibson was a tenant who owed $12,000 in past-due rent.
“I don’t understand how the whole thing can happen,” Gibson told WANF in May 2024. “It upsets me just to talk about it; I feel so violated.”
Further research showed that this was not the first eviction attempt. Court records indicated that deputies had previously tried to evict her in October 2022. Had her property not been gated, she feared that all her belongings could have been thrown out onto the street.
The Scammer Behind the Scheme
Authorities identified Michael James Bourff as the person responsible for the fraudulent eviction filing. Posing as an “agent” of Gibson’s property, Bourff filed documents claiming that she had failed to respond to an eviction notice—one she never received.
Bourff was arrested and charged with perjury, forgery, and filing a false document. Initially detained in a separate county on DUI charges, he was later transferred to Fulton County Jail. He bonded out on January 1, 2025.
A Dangerous Legal Loophole
The case exposed a major flaw in Georgia’s property laws. Under current regulations, clerks are not required to verify IDs when filing deeds or eviction paperwork. This loophole allows fraudsters to submit false documents without proving homeownership.
“This is crazy—someone can just walk into an office, provide no ID, and no one bothers to check if they even own the home,” Gibson said.
Unfortunately, Gibson is not alone. Many homeowners in the Atlanta area have fallen victim to similar scams, with some even being forced to pay “rent” to fake landlords.
The Rising Issue of Evictions in the U.S.
According to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University, evictions are a widespread issue across the United States. Their data shows that landlords file an average of 7.8 evictions per 100 renting households each year. In total, about 3.6 million eviction cases are filed annually.
In another shocking case, criminals fraudulently sold an Atlanta man’s vacation home in Charlotte, North Carolina—valued at $300,000—for just $9,000 using a forged deed.
A Call for Stronger Protections
Gibson’s story highlights the urgent need for stronger legal protections against fraudulent eviction filings. Experts warn that without stricter verification processes, more homeowners may fall victim to similar scams, facing wrongful eviction from homes they rightfully own.
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