146 Dead "Came Back" To
Sign Away Their Property
Like if they had risen
from their tombs, in the
last four years, 146
people have "appeared
from the dead" to
transfer their
properties in sales,
donations or mortgages
of propety, according to
a report by the daily
Spanish language
newspaper, La Nación.
The dead, it appears,
went before a notary
public to legalize the
transfer of their
properties, long after
their death was
recorded.
Between 2003 and July of
this year, the Registro
Nacional (national
registry) has charged
118 notaries who
certified the appearance
before them of the dead.
However, very few will
be facing legal or
disciplinary
consequences.
"The convictions don't
even reach 5% of the
lawyers and notaries who
are taking advantage of
the loopholes and
excuses to confuse the
process", said Dagoberto
Sibaja, director of the
Registro.
And some cases cross the
line of the incredible.
For example, Víctor
Julio Rodríguez Álvarez,
died on December 12,
1983 when he was 26
years of age. Two
decades later (Juen 18,
2003), Victor appeared
before a notary
identified as Méndez to
sell his property.
A similar situation
occured with the
appearance of Raúl
Sánchez Varga who died
on January 1, 1982. On
December 17, 2002,
Sánchez signed a
document donating his
property. The sworn
document was presented
by a notary identified
as Rodríguez.
"The lack of controls on
notaries has been an
incentive for some to
commit fraud", said the
ministra de Justicia and
Costa Rica's
vice-president, Laura
Chinchilla.
The list of similar
frauds is long, notaries
presenting to the
Registro documents sworn
by people who have died
years and decades
earlier, but still have
property registered in
their names.
Cases of these types of
frauds are appearing in
all parts of the country
as unscrupulous lawyers
or in some cases in
collaboration with
relatives of the
deceased, friends and
neighbours, present
fraudulent documents to
the Registro to transfer
real estate and other
property, including
vehicles.
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