ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 27, 2026 —

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has arrested two people on charges that they used forged documents to take money left over from foreclosure sales, the agency announced in a news release dated Oct. 20.

The charges

According to the FDLE news release, Douglas Lorenzo Murphy Jr., 33, and Ericka Elsa Sarita, 49, were arrested on one count each of aggravated white-collar crime, organized fraud, and criminal use of personal identification information involving 10 or more victims, and two counts each of money laundering of $100,000 or more.

FDLE says its investigation began Aug. 7, 2025, when the Office of Statewide Prosecution notified agents of a fraud scheme involving the illegal acquisition of foreclosure surplus funds through fraudulent court filings. The release says several attorneys and law firms were used to electronically submit forged documents to the Orange County Clerk of Court that reassigned the legal rights to foreclosure surplus funds. It does not name any attorneys or law firms.

The agency says the investigation found that between 2018 and 2026, Murphy and Sarita stole foreclosure surplus funds from the Clerk of Court through forged legal instruments, stolen identities, falsified corporate structures and money laundering. FDLE also says the pair attempted to acquire more than $5.5 million in foreclosure surplus and estate funds and received about $2.6 million. In addition, FDLE says Murphy used the identity of a deceased person, falsely claimed to be a relative and opened financial accounts in that person's name.

FDLE says agents obtained arrest warrants on Oct. 4, 2026, and both people were arrested that day and taken to the Orange County Jail. The Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution is prosecuting the case, and FDLE says the investigation remains active. The FDLE release does not include a response from either person. Charges are accusations; both are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

What is foreclosure surplus?

Under Florida Statute 45.032, "surplus funds" are the funds remaining after payment of all disbursements required by the final judgment of foreclosure. The law sets a rebuttable legal presumption that the owner of record on the date the foreclosure's notice of pending action (a "lis pendens") was filed is the person entitled to the surplus, after subordinate lienholders who timely filed a claim are paid. Anyone claiming the surplus as an assignee of the owner's rights must prove to the court that they are entitled to it.

The statute includes a sample sworn claim form for owners. It states that the owner understands they are not required to have a lawyer or any other representation and do not have to assign their rights to anyone else in order to claim money they may be entitled to. The law also says that one year after the sale, surplus still held by the clerk that has not been disbursed is presumed unclaimed and must be reported and remitted under Florida's unclaimed property provisions, unless a court proceeding over who is entitled to it is pending.

Those are the facts, directly from the source. Now that you have the up-to-date facts, decide what it means for you and your family.

Sources: FDLE, FDLE Arrests Two in Mortgage Foreclosure Surplus Fraud Scheme (Oct. 20, 2026); The Florida Legislature, s. 45.032, Florida Statutes. Checked Oct. 27, 2026.

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