Richmond fraudster sentenced to four years in prison for using false documents to take possession of vacant properties

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man was sentenced to four years in prison for mail fraud relating to his scheme to acquire real estate properties through forgeries and filing false documents.

According to court documents, from August of 2019 through September of 2022, Ali Mif Bey, formerly Richard Lewis Miffin, 45, engaged in a scheme to fraudulently transfer title and ownership of real estate properties from the legitimate owners to himself and entities affiliated with and controlled by Bey. Bey, a self-proclaimed member of the Moorish sovereign citizen movement, identified and targeted properties to unlawfully deed to himself and to entities that were either fictitious or alter egos of Bey, or entities that he operated and controlled and for which he served as the registered agent. The properties Bey targeted were generally in pre-foreclosure or foreclosure. In some instances, the owners were deceased and the properties were subject to probate court proceedings.

Bey created fraudulent property deeds purporting to convey ownership. Bey also forged or caused to be forged the signatures of the legitimate owners of the properties onto the fraudulent deeds he created without the property owners' knowledge and consent. Bey would have the fraudulent deeds notarized, typically at UPS stores, to give them the appearance of legitimacy and to satisfy the recording requirements of county recorders. Bey filed the fraudulent deeds with either the Richmond Circuit Court Clerk's Office, the Henrico County Circuit Court Clerk's Office, or the Chesterfield County Circuit Court Clerk's Office.

On more than one occasion, Bey attempted to purchase foreclosed properties at auction using fraudulent money orders purportedly backed by and redeemable at the United States Treasury.

At one auction, Bey signed a memorandum of sale and submitted for payment a fraudulent money order in the amount of $250,000. After discovering the fraudulent nature of the money order, the law firm handling the foreclosure sale sent Bey a letter prohibiting Bey from bidding on any future sale held by the law firm, and the law firm scheduled another auction for the property. In response, Bey mailed a letter to the law firm demanding that the firm stop the auction and asserting that Bey would file another lien on a related third party and would seek to enforce a lien previously filed against the law firm if the sale continued.

Bey appeared at another auction, signed the entry sheet, and brought with him a fraudulent money order for $250,000. As part of the check-in process for auction participants, Bey presented the money order to an employee of the auction. Because of the suspicious appearance of the money order and Bey's behavior, however, he was not allowed to participate in the auction.

After fraudulently deeding the properties to himself, Bey used various means to attempt to stop the legitimate owners or custodians of those properties from completing lawful transfers of the properties. Bey would occupy, possess, repurpose, and/or rent the properties for his personal gain. Typically, he would change the locks on the properties, display a flag associated with the Moorish sovereign citizen movement, post written ''No Trespassing" notices on the properties, and arrange public utility services for the properties. Bey personally occupied and resided in at least one of the properties that he fraudulently acquired. Bey listed some of the properties for rent. His tenants were unaware that Bey was not the legitimate owner of the properties and had no authority to offer them for rent.

Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge David J. Novak.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Garnett and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kashan K. Pathan prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-14.