A Texas man has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges that he helped run a deed fraud scheme that sold land belonging to other people and laundered the money, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on October 20, 2026.

Moshe Levi, 61, of Carrollton, Texas, agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled. Levi was charged along with two co-defendants in July 2026. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, the New England Signal reported in its October 20 coverage of the announcement.

According to court filings cited by the Justice Department, Levi and his alleged co-conspirators identified vacant properties in Massachusetts, Georgia, Indiana and Tennessee that carried no mortgages or liens and were owned by people who lived in other states. Prosecutors allege the group set up email and internet phone accounts and obtained fake identification, including driver's licences and passports, in the owners' names. Posing as the owners, they allegedly tricked real estate professionals into listing the properties, negotiating their sale and deeding them to unsuspecting buyers in exchange for payment. (Yaani: the scheme allegedly sold land the group never owned at all — the real owners, living in other states, did not know their plots were being sold.)

Prosecutors also allege the group moved the proceeds through personal and corporate bank accounts, by cheque and wire transfer, to hide the source and ownership of the money, and that since about June 2023 Levi and others shared or tried to share about $1.5 million in illegal proceeds. (Yaani: $1.5 million is about Rs 13 crore / 15 lakh dollars.)

The Justice Department stresses that the charges are allegations and that Levi is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court — his agreement to plead guilty has been announced, but the plea itself still has to be entered before a judge. For diaspora families who own land or property while living away from it — a common situation for Punjabi families with property in India and in North America — the case is a reminder of why vacant, out-of-state property is a target for deed fraud, and why owners should watch title and tax records for property they rarely visit. (Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, October 20, 2026; New England Signal, October 20, 2026.)