LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A Louisville senior pastor is facing criminal charges after court documents revealed he allegedly forged an elderly woman's signature to steal her property's deed.
The arrest has prompted the Jefferson County Clerk's Office to urge homeowners to protect their property using a free automated system called "Clerk Alert."
Melvin James Cuff, 79, was arrested and charged with second-degree forgery.
According to court documents, a deed for a property on Cedar Street was sold to Cuff. However, the victim contacted police stating she never sold her home and that her signature on the deed had been forged.
Cuff is listed as the senior pastor at Greater Harvest Baptist Church.
Officials say the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office processes thousands of property deeds daily, but this transaction raised some red flags.
Scammers often target vacant properties or unsuspecting homeowners by using fake identification and a forged notary stamp to push fake deeds through the recording process, officials say.
"They can proceed with that. They can have a fake notary," said Ashley Tinius with the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office. "The notary can go on and pass it through as a deed, and then they could attempt to sell your property."
To prevent similar schemes, the county clerk's office is strongly encouraging all local property owners to register for "Clerk Alert."
Clerk Alert is an automated notification system that acts as an early-warning monitor for property records.
If a deed, mortgage, or other property-related document is recorded under a registered name, the system immediately emails or texts the owner.
While the system does not physically block fraudulent paperwork from being filed, it alerts homeowners to suspicious activity before scammers can sell the home or secure loans against it.
"That has been a great tool for property owners in Jefferson County. It's a simple tool," Tinius said. "You're able to say, 'Pump the brakes. That's not real.' And then they can stop that from happening."
Though the clerk’s office staff undergoes specialized detection training with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, the sheer volume of daily filings makes detection difficult.
"They've worked really hard to train the staff here at the county clerk's office," Tinius said. "We cannot do all of them because of the high volume that we see here."
Jefferson County property owners can register for free notifications on the county clerk's website.
Officials stress that if you receive an alert showing unauthorized activity or suspect a fake document has been filed against your home, you should contact the Louisville Metro Police Department immediately.
"We have the Clerk Alert now in place that will hopefully protect homeowners," Tinius said. "That's what we really want. We want people to know that it's out there."
Cuff is scheduled for a preliminary court hearing next Wednesday at 9 a.m.
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