Investigative Reporting, Las Vegas, Sweeps

While Reporting on Mortgage Fraud For KLAS, George Knapp Discovers He Was A Victim

By Merrill Knox on November 23, 2011 11:49 AM

KLAS chief investigative reporter George Knapp made a disturbing discovery while reporting on Nevada mortgage fraud for “Desert Underwater,” the station’s series for sweeps: he was a victim of the very mortgage fraud he investigated.

As part of his reporting, Knapp interviewed a foreclosure attorney who told him that many people who purchase homes out of foreclosure have fraudulent paperwork associated with their chain of title.

“I gave her my address, because I bought a home out of foreclosure three years ago this month,” Knapp said in his report (watch below). “It took her all of about five minutes to call up the documents and identify the problem in the chain of title. The Attorney General’s office confirmed to me that I don’t own my home because of bogus signatures and improper filings.”

Knapp told Poynter that the discovery put him in “an awkward spot,” and said the station discussed whether to include it in the final report at all.

“My managers thought it was a fairly pointed way to demonstrate one of the central issues in our project … namely, that very bad things have happened to people who essentially played by the rules,” Knapp said.

Knapp’s disclosure comes at the 5:00 mark:

[h/t Poynter]