North Portland Stolen Home Investigation Widens

“I believe that the suspect in the case is also involved in the cases I am working in Arizona.”

Ron and Sarah Henne. (Nigel Jaquiss)
By Nigel Jaquiss

Last week, WW reported on the apparently fraudulent documentation used by a scammer under the name Silvestre Garcia to steal a home in St. Johns.

Garcia apparently forged the signature of the homeowner, Ron Henne, as well as the John Hancock of the notary public who’d witnessed Henne sign in 2010 when he inherited the home from his late mother and transferred it to his name (“A Friend in Deed,” WW, March 27).

After that story ran, a criminal investigator for Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes contacted Multnomah County officials.

“An investigator for a title company sent me the March 27, 2024, article in Willamette Week regarding the deed fraud case for Mr. Henne’s home,” investigator Don Carroll wrote in a March 29 email. “I believe that the suspect in the case is also involved in the cases I am working in Arizona. Please let me know who I can speak to at Portland PD or Oregon DOJ regarding the case.”

Ron Henne held on to his house, thanks to the eagle eyes of his Portland neighbors, who alerted police. The investigation into Garcia is ongoing.

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