Landowners are generally delighted to hear their property sale is going through, but when Peter Mullin learned his lot in Boothbay was about to be sold for $100,000, he was anything but. That’s because Mullin never put his land up for sale. An imposter did.  

The attempted land fraud in September is the first of its kind in the county, according to Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. It's one of many scams the department says are an almost daily occurrence. Now, Mullin wants to spread the word about his story to help others avoid an ordeal.  

Something seems off

After a lifetime of renting and a decade of looking for the right spot, Mullin bought the Maine property in 2020. He said he and his wife Ellen, who live in Minneapolis, fell in love with the five-and-a-half-acre wooded plot that abuts Cross River. They plan to maintain its natural beauty and have dreams of building a cabin and relocating.  

“When I first went there, I was jumping around I was so excited. It looks a lot like northern Minnesota in the boundary waters area that I've canoed for all my entire life,” Mullin said. “That was the perfect place for us.” 

With recent plans for a dock and other projects, Mullin said he wasn't surprised to see what he thought were contractors at the lot Sept. 5 through his remote camera. It wasn't until the next day, when he saw footage of a family, that suspicions were raised. He called his neighbor, who went over to check it out. 

“Of course, (he) knew them, and they're just a nice local family who were sent over there by the agent to look at this lot because they think it's for sale,” Mullin said. “We explained to our neighbor that it's not for sale. It never will be as far as we're concerned. We love it. And just to let those guys know that.” 

Days earlier, when realtor Clayton Pottle got a call from “Peter Mullin,” he said it was business as usual and described the conversation as very matter of fact. The man on the other line called him “Mr. Pottle” and asked for help selling a lot. After a few minutes of talking, Pottle agreed to come up with a price. He said the call did not seem strange and the caller didn’t pressure him for urgency, one sign of a scam.  

The only thing Pottle said he found suspicious was that the caller didn't return several following voicemails and emails. However, he noted the caller’s number was not associated with “Peter Mullin.” Pottle said he was preparing for heart surgery at the time, so he was somewhat preoccupied.  

Because the steep lot is hard to walk around, Pottle enlisted the help of a colleague to inspect it. The other realtor coincidentally had clients of their own who were interested in buying. It appeared it was going to be an easy deal for everyone.  

“The next day, or it may have been the same day, the real Peter Mullin calls me and says, ‘What's going on?’” Pottle recalled. “I said, ‘Well, I don't know.’ And he says, ‘I think you've been scammed ... I do not want to sell my land.’” 

Imagination is the limit

When Mullin found out someone was fraudulently trying to sell his land, he immediately called Pottle, who was getting ready to draft an offer, and let him know they had been victimized. Mullin then contacted several local realtors and title companies to get the word out. In addition, he filed a report with Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI.  

“We got the word out and filed the reports, and I'm like, ‘I'm getting out there.’ I literally jumped in my car and drove two days and landed on Sunday evening,” he said, adding that he worked out of a camper on the lot as he tried to handle the situation. He installed fence posts and a chain across the driveway, and a sign that made it clear the private property isn't for sale.  

Real estate scams have been reported in York County and other parts of Maine. However, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Lt. Brenden Kane said Mullin’s case is the first one of its kind in Lincoln County. He mentioned there have been scams involving fake short-term rentals, but nothing about real estate sales. However, he said scams are an almost daily problem in the area.  

“Unfortunately, fraud is a huge, huge problem, and it's controlled only by (the scammer's) imagination,” Kane said. He later added, “It keeps changing and evolving. It's something we just have to be ever vigilant about.” 

Kane said the sheriff's office is investigating Mullin’s case and cooperating with other law enforcement agencies, as needed, to catch the scammer he said could be anywhere. “I'm not going to say we're closing in on them because I don't know where they are. They could be in West Boothbay Harbor or they could be in West Africa or Russia. These scams lead us globally.” 

Despite the trouble, Mullin said he considers himself lucky because he caught the scam early. But what if he didn't?  

Pottle has been a realtor for 36 years and said this is the first time he has dealt with fraud like this. He said the only guardrail he knows is the closing, where each party would be required to provide a driver’s license. However, he added a scammer could have a fake ID. “It was very fortunate that the neighbor got involved you know because if he had not called Peter, I don't know how far the process may have gotten. I really don't,” he said.  

Mullin said he is concerned scams could succeed without the owner being aware. He said he could register with the county to get notified that a deed is filed on the property but, by then, the sale has happened. The end result could be a costly legal affair.

The consequences could be more painful for a buyer. 

“The aggrieved person in that from a starting point is the buyer who has delivered probably hundreds of thousands of dollars and not received a deed from the person who actually owns the property. They have a fraudulent deed,” said Boothbay Harbor attorney Bruce Harris, who deals in real estate law. “Of course, the problem is that the scammer is gone and they're like a ghost at that point.” 

The fight against fraud

This March, Maine state senator Henry Ingwersen (D, York) introduced a bill, “An Act to Implement Protections Against Deed Fraud.” LD 2240 would create identity verification measures, create an awareness campaign and upgrade deed fraud from a Class D offense to class B, making it a felony. It was later replaced with a resolve to create a commission to prevent deed fraud. The group must meet by Nov. 6 and is authorized to report to the 132nd Legislature in 2025. 

In the meantime, professionals can help. Pottle said the ordeal was a lesson, and he learned to take more time with prospective clients and verify their identities. “We're all excited to get a new listing. There aren't many around, and you want to be on top of it. But I think we need to slow that process down and, quite frankly, maybe there does need (to be) some legislation. However, who's going to enforce it and who's going to catch these people?”  

Some experts say a scam is more likely for remote deals, especially for an undeveloped lot or a vacant property. Harris said remote closings became commonplace after COVID, and now about half of his closings happen without both parties present.  

Maine Association of Realtors said it puts out communications about land fraud in response to fraud in Cumberland, South Berwick and Bancroft Township. The association encourages realtors to meet a seller in person or on video chat because scammers are not likely to show their faces. Harris said he hasn’t dealt with a deed fraud case, but added the local nature of his business means he knows many of the people he works with, which he said goes a long way to protect against scams. “(But) in fact, I know it wouldn't prevent the most sophisticated scammer that would be out there,” he said, noting the possibility of a fraudulent ID or other tactics.

For owners, there are companies that sell title protection, promising defense against fraud. However, Harris recommends owners do their research before signing up. “I'm suspicious about what real value that brings, honestly. You pay somebody to put a lock on your deed. But I mean, you already have a lock on your deed, in that it's yours, and you haven't conveyed it to anybody,” he said. “It just starts to feel a little, I don't know, like you're playing on people's fears ...” 

But there are steps people can take without spending money. Kane said there are common tools to help fight any scam. Scammers often use social engineering to pressure victims to act fast so that they don't stop and think. He said to do just that: If someone receives an unusual communication, take time to consider and verify if it's legitimate. In addition, he says to take an uncomfortable step, one Mullin is familiar with: Share your story.  

"You're going to be a little embarrassed because you got scammed (but) please tell your friends and tell your family … If you're working out at the Y next to the 70-year-old person that you think is pretty spry and pretty on top of it and they got scammed, it will maybe make (someone) stop and say, ‘Well, jeez, if Peter got scammed, I certainly could.’”