Husband And Wife (And Purported ‘Sovereign Citizens’) Jailed In Georgia; Edgar Lee Rodgers And Diane Rowe Charged With Racketeering Amid Allegations They Tried To Sell Homes That Did Not Belong To Them

Edgar Rodgers And Diane Rowe: Source: Booking photos at Fulton County Jail.

Bond has been set at a combined $130,000 for a Georgia couple arrested Thursday by Atlanta police on charges they tried to sell homes that did not belong to them in an alleged paperwork scam involving bogus courthouse filings.

In recent years, Georgia has been near the top of the list in both bank failures and foreclosures. A number of scams have evolved, including “squatters” divining themselves a right to sell or move into homes that do not belong to them and foreclosure-rescue schemes in which foreclosure subjects are told they can remain in their homes by paying “rent” to purported third-party deed-holders who somehow whisked ownership rights away from banks.

Bond for Edgar Lee Rodgers was set at $85,000, according to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office. Meanwhile, bond for Diane Rowe was set at $45,000.  Both Rodgers and Rowe — purported “sovereign citizens” — are detained at the Fulton County Jail.

Rodgers has been charged with a single count of racketeering and five counts of theft by deception. His wife was charged with one count of racketeering and one count of theft by deception.

Here is how the Atlanta Journal Constitution put it in a story yesterday:

“Edgar Lee Rodgers and Diane Rowe are accused of filing false adverse possession documents — essentially claiming squatters’ rights — to homes that were vacant, likely due to foreclosure.”

Also see coverage at CBS Atlanta, which quoted Atlanta Police Sgt. Paul Cooper on the arrest of the couple.

View video report at WXIA (11Alive).