The ringleader of a property fraud title scheme, Arizona inmate Jason Bullard, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. His co-conspirator Rockney Martineau was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in the fraud scheme.
Bullard has been incarcerated in Arizona for more than 25 years. That hasn’t stopped the duo from attempting to take over deeds to properties they don’t own over the years. The defendants falsely claim to be the homeowners and attempt to take loans out against the property. The true owner is then left with a costly legal battle to reclaim the title to their own home. Bullard and Martineau claim they have the right to do this as “sovereign citizens.”
The most recent conviction comes after Bullard and Martineau attempted to file a quit claim deed on a property in Mesa. The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office pulled the deed since it looked “odd.” A manager at the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office is familiar with both defendants due to their fraudulent filings over the years and immediately contacted the Mesa Police Department. She did not record the deed.
A jury found Martineau and Bullard guilty of Attempted Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices, Conducting an Illegal Enterprise, and Forgery.