The following press release was written and investigated by Mid America Live
A warranty deed on file at the Bates County Recorder of Deeds office indicates the sale of 38.6 acres of land just outside of Butler along with another property located inside city limits dated August 28th, 2023. By all appearances this is a fully legitimate document according to Recorder of Deeds personnel.
The seller is listed as seller
Eugene P. Miller Jr. and purchaser as Homestead Equities LLC; the document was
notarized by Jessica J. Taylor who is legally commissioned in Missouri. As
everything was in order, the recorder’s office proceeded with putting the
change of ownership on file as part of standard protocol.
But that’s not where it ends.
Executor of Miller’s estate Deanna Baumgarden says no one, including Miller,
knew of the transfer until about five months later when she went on line to
Bates County GIS only to discover his property was now listed with a new owner,
Homestead Equities, LLC.
“Before that, I got suspicious
when Shannon Bone, who had been helping with a beneficiary deed, called asking
for titles for Gene’s cars. That’s when I looked and was completely shocked to
find the property in someone else's name.”
Hence, the fact finding began.
In questioning 83 year old Miller
(now deceased) and his family, all strongly contended that neither he, nor any
family member agreed to sell nor were there any discussions about doing such.
Likewise, the family claims Miller’s bank account did not show receipt of
funds, which based on current market values, would have been in the
neighborhood of $200,000.00 or so.
Unfortunately, Eugene Miller
passed away May 13, 2024 and hopes were dashed of any resolution as they were
told that since the transaction was complete and appeared to be fully legal-
there was nothing more to be done and the only help could come from an outside
investigation.
In the meantime, Miller and his
family made several attempts to reach Bone to discuss the issue but said she
was longer answering calls and had seemingly left the area.
Enlisting the help of others,
Baumgarden and the family elected to begin an investigation on their own with
findings that didn’t paint a very pretty picture, leading them to believe fraud
could be involved:
According to the Missouri
Secretary of State website, Homestead Equities LLC was formed August 9, 2023
(19 days before the sale) showing a registered agent name of Shannon M. Bone of
Butler, Mo. The search also revealed another business owned by Bone known as
Circle B Bookkeeping LLC created in January of 2016.
To date, this is the only
transaction on file for Homestead Equities LLC at the recorder’s office in
Bates county.
As further attempts to get
answers by the family were unsuccessful, an on line search revealed that Bone
may have relocated to Ash Flat, Arkansas. That search also revealed a criminal
history in Arkansas that indicates Bone previously had four charges of Class C
Felony forgery with the disposition listed as guilty and one of charge of Theft
of Leased, Rented or Entrusted Personal Property, a Class C Felony, also
showing a disposition of guilty all of which occurred in 1999.
The criminal record also
indicated other similar charges during the same time frame that were disposed
as not guilty.
“This thing just stinks. Gene
would not have knowingly given up his property” said Baumgarden “And to think
his family has been cheated out of land that has been in the family for a very
long time just crushes my heart.”
Another variable has come into
play as prior to his death, Gene battled onset dementia and Alzheimer’s for the
past couple of years bringing into question whether or not he was mentally clear
enough to know what he may have signed.
But regardless, according to his
closest family members “he was VERY clear he never agreed to sell his land that
was meant to be passed on to heirs.”
Multiple checks of his bank
account have never shown receipt of money from Homestead Equities or even a
large cash deposit- all done to insure there was not some kind of clerical
mistake or a lost check.
Shannon
tells her side
The previous information
notwithstanding, Mid America Live was able to contact Shannon
Bone via telephone to get her side of the story.
When informed that there were
questions regarding the transfer she stated “I helped Gene with a lot of things
over the years. In return, he told me he wanted me to have the property so I
put it in a safe place.” She went on to say that her intent was to honor his
wishes and that holding the property “would insure nothing that went against
his wishes would happen to it.”
In our 16 minute conversation
Bone assured multiple times that she was only following Miller’s instructions.
However at this juncture,
the matter has caught the attention of the Department of Health and Senior
Services who took interest in the case and are preparing to open a formal
investigation.
A timeline regarding the
investigation is yet to be revealed.
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