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federal bankruptcy judge has ordered the nullification of documents filed by Jonathan Burden, accused of swindling a dead woman out of her Central City fourplex. Judge Meredith Grabill ruled that Burden never paid Lorraine Robinson more than $1 for the property before filing documents claiming ownership after her death.

    Grabill's decision is the first time a court has ordered the Orleans Parish clerk to remove documents filed by Burden from land records, although similar claims have been made against him in at least six other cases. Those cases have been detailed in WWL Louisiana's "Un-Real Estate" investigation, which found that another judge had previously determined Burden used a forged document to take ownership of a dead woman's house.

    Burden claimed he paid Robinson $9,500 cash to help with her mortgage debts, but his testimony was deemed not credible by Grabill. Bank records showed Robinson never deposited large amounts of cash around the time of their meeting and continued to withdraw money for living expenses.

    Grabill ruled that Burden's documents were invalid, stating "Other than $1.00, the Court finds that Burden never paid any funds to Lorraine for the sale of the Property." The judge also disbelieved testimony from attorney David Alfortish, who notarized the purchase contract, and found him to have a previous ethical violation.

    The ruling likely ends a two-year court battle to return Robinson's house to her bankruptcy estate. Burden is separately awaiting trial for attempted murder in an unrelated drive-by shooting.