Melissa Jester, 41, of Bunnell, FL, is facing criminal charges after authorities say she forged deeds to steal three properties.
A Florida woman has been accused of perpetrating a brazen deed fraud scam and illicitly transferred ownership of three properties in a scheme to fund her lavish lifestyle.
Melissa Jester, 41, of Bunnell, FL, is facing criminal charges after authorities say she forged a property owner's signature on deeds, transferred the land to a company she controlled, and pocketed the proceeds from one of the sales. She was arrested Nov. 6.
The victim, who owned three vacant lots in Florida for nearly two decades, recently discovered that the properties were transferred out of her name without her knowledge—and that one had been sold for nearly $30,000, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
The victim contacted the authorities on Aug. 27 and said she had never authorized the sale or transfer of the properties. The three lots are located in the coastal city of Palm Coast, about 30 miles north of Daytona Beach.
An investigation was launched, and detectives uncovered what they described as a paper trail of forged documents, suspicious financial transactions, and a property sale that ultimately helped lead them to Jester.
Detectives traced a trail of forged documents and fraudulent financial transactions to Jester.
According to investigators, paperwork transferring ownership of all three lots to Florida Ohana Homes LLC, a company owned by Jester, was mailed to the Flagler County Clerk of Courts on June 29, 2026.
The paperwork appeared to have the property owner's signature on it. It was forged, investigators say.
Jester took further steps to hide her involvement by purchasing a money order on June 18 to pay the filing fees for the property under a different name, according to the affidavit.
The money order was purchased at the Amscot location on Palm Coast Parkway. The transaction did not require identification.
But the alleged scheme did not end there.
According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Jester, acting as managing member of Florida Ohana Homes LLC, then sold one of the stolen lots for $29,970 to an unsuspecting buyer on Sept. 10.
Surveillance video from the UPS Store on Belle Terre Parkway showed Jester signing the warranty deed and having it notarized. The money was transferred to the Bank of America account for Florida Ohana Homes LLC.
Authorities also allege that Jester transferred $8,000 from the business account into her personal account at VyStar Credit Union, where the money was spent on hotel stays and purchases throughout Flagler County.
By following the financial transactions, detectives were able to trace the money and recover a substantial portion of the proceeds from the alleged illicit sale.
More than $14,000 was seized from the company's Bank of America account and another $6,000 from Jester's personal credit union account. A total of $20,000 was recovered.
On Nov. 6, deputies located Jester driving in Bunnell, FL, and arrested her on charges of grand theft and obtaining property valued between $20,000 and $50,000 by swindle.
She is being held at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on a $45,000 bond.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said the case stood out because, unlike many property fraud schemes involving suspects operating from distant locations, the alleged perpetrator lived nearby and conducted the transaction in person.
“Most of the deed fraud we see is run by scammers hiding in another state or another country. This one lived in Bunnell and signed the closing papers in front of a security camera in Palm Coast,” Sheriff Staly said. “Our detectives followed the trail of forgeries and money and recovered most of it for the victim.”