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n El Paso man, Victor Bernard Dennis Jr., 47, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for a massive real estate scheme that swindled dozens of victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Dennis pleaded guilty to four cases containing multiple counts of tampering with government records, forgery, and theft of property.

    Dennis admitted to transferring properties into his name or his companies' ownership by forging warranty deeds and filing them with the County Clerk's Office. He would then sell these properties to unsuspecting buyers, accepting money from them while keeping the original owners' names on the titles. This scheme began in 2014 and continued until he was caught, resulting in over half a million dollars stolen from 70 residents.

    Dennis also targeted U.S. military service members who were about to deploy or reassign, convincing them that he would sell their El Paso homes while keeping the down payments and mortgage payments for himself. The homes eventually fell into foreclosure, ruining the service members' credit.

    As part of his plea agreement, Dennis was required to provide law enforcement with details on how he carried out his scheme. District Attorney James Montoya stated that the scam had far-reaching consequences, affecting not only the victims but also the true owners of the properties and those who thought they were buying homes.

    The El Paso County District Attorney's Office is urging property owners to check their records for any discrepancies and is asking anyone who encountered or conducted business with Dennis to come forward. The companies involved in Dennis' crimes include KV Homes, LLC., Omega Land Trust, and several others.