A two-year investigation into a complex real estate scheme ended last week when authorities caught up with a 63-year-old Bartow woman accused of selling properties across multiple states that didn’t belong to her.
Cheryl Annette Jefferson was arrested on March 20 in the Florida Panhandle on a first-degree felony warrant. Investigators with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office say Jefferson orchestrated a “thick and deep” fraud that bilked buyers out of more than $421,000.
The scheme came to light when property owners discovered their land had been sold without their knowledge. In one instance, the DeJulio family, among at least six documented victims, found a “for sale” sign and a house appearing on a vacant lot they thought they still owned…