KEYSTONE HEIGHTS, Fla. – A young Middleburg couple was arrested Monday on charges of grand theft, forgery and unlawful filing of a deed after deputies said they moved into a vacant mansion in Keystone Heights that didn't belong to them.
Clay County deputies said Justin and Jenna Dean, 24 and 23 respectively, removed and replaced the locks and moved into the home on County Road 214, just east of Keystone Heights, in September.
Deputies said the couple filed forged documents and a bogus quit claim deed on the property, which had been in foreclosure for several years.
Jenna Dean posted on Facebook: "This is the house we just bought. We have a lot of work to do, it'll take some time but Rome wasn't built overnight."
Deputies say the Deans invited friends over and hosted pool parties at the house over the last three months.
Investigators said the Deans might have gotten away with living there longer if not for a legitimate buyer in Ohio making an offer on the house When the bank ordered a title search in preparation for selling the house, the crime was uncovered.
While the signatures on the court document the Deans filed appeared to be legitimate, it was dated Sept. 1 -- a day banks and the courthouse was closed -- and fonts on the document didn't match.
"The quit claim deed that was filed was fraudulent; it was made up of pieces of other deeds where the signatures were on the correct deed and used on the other deed," said Clay County Detective Steve Dugger.
The Deans are currently out of jail on bond.
"I don't know how they come up with this stuff," Dugger said. "I'm surprised at the stuff that we have to investigate every day. It amazes me that someone who makes horseshoes for a living is purchasing a $1 million home. It's incredible."