In a case that has rattled a quiet Seminole County neighborhood, an Altamonte Springs man is accused of using forged paperwork to quietly take over homes belonging to people who had already died, leaving stunned relatives and watchful neighbors to unravel what investigators now call a real estate scam.
According to WESH, prosecutors have charged Samuel Bellamy with eight felony counts, including fraud, forgery, and grand theft, and a judge has pushed his arraignment date to March 24, 2026. Body-camera video obtained by investigators shows officers responding to reports of gunfire at a Spring Oaks Boulevard home on March 26, 2025. Police said they found a handgun, ammunition, and about a dozen bullet holes, and that Bellamy was briefly taken into custody under Florida’s Baker Act.
How investigators say he did it
Altamonte Springs detectives say Bellamy filed forged quitclaim deeds that listed him as the new owner of at least three homes. One property was quickly sold, investigators say, while another was allegedly taken over and lived in by Bellamy and some of his relatives. As WFTV reported, neighbors who knew the deceased owners started asking questions when they saw unfamiliar people coming and going, then reached out to city code enforcement and police.
Clerk’s office flagged the paperwork
Once detectives alerted the Seminole County Clerk, staff working for Clerk Grant Maloy dug into the records and quickly noticed problems with the deeds, from suspicious signatures to eyebrow-raising timelines. One example cited by investigators involved a quitclaim deed that claimed to transfer the home of Gertrude Hillmann. The document was dated September 2013 but was not recorded until July 2024, long after her death on October 24, 2024, according to WESH. Maloy told reporters that his office is legally required to record documents that appear to meet statutory requirements. Still, once investigators raised concerns, staff were able to spot what detectives allege are fraudulent filings.
Policy fixes and a pilot
Florida lawmakers and county clerks have been pushing for guardrails to keep this kind of deed fraud from slipping through the cracks. HB 1419 established a pilot program in Lee County that requires a government-issued photo ID before a deed can be processed, and clerks across the state have begun implementing free property fraud alert systems. The Lee County Clerk has described its ID verification pilot as a tool that gives law enforcement stronger leads when fraud is suspected.
Legal next steps
Bellamy is currently free on bond while he fights the felony charges. Prosecutors recently requested a continuance, and no trial date has been set. Meanwhile, the estate of another person identified as a victim has filed a civil lawsuit in Orange County, and investigators are still combing through public records to see whether there might be additional properties and families caught up in the alleged scheme.
How to protect your property
The Seminole County Clerk offers a free Property Fraud Alert service that sends an email when a document bearing a user’s name is recorded. Officials recommend signing up for the alerts and keeping wills, trusts, and other estate documents up to date. Details and registration are available on the Seminole County Clerk website.
Neighbors say they want the courts to straighten out the records and return homes to the rightful owners, and they want the system tightened so grieving families are not easy targets. Local officials say this case is a pointed reminder that a mix of watchful neighbors and modern fraud alerts can stop a bogus deed from quietly rewriting who owns a home.
