# SUMMARY MEMO — Suspected Malicious/Fraudulent Deed Filing, Island County, WA

**Prepared:** 2026-08-14 · **Prepared for:** property owner's attorney and title company
**Matter:** Neighbor-reported malicious deed filing affecting a cluster of parcels that includes
the two subject properties below.

> **Important:** This memo compiles **public records** and is **not legal advice**. Figures and
> parcel boundaries are from county sources and a title-company plat aid ("an aid," not a survey).
> The attorney and title company should independently verify before acting.

---

## 1. Subject properties
| Owner (of record) | Geographic ID | Parcel | Situs | 2026 Appraised |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutter, Richard Ryan (mailing: "Rutter Katya Garibyan") | R32905-401-5010 | 401-5010 | 4927 Katya Ln, Langley WA 98260 | $838,311 |
| Garibyan, Arshavir | R32905-400-4740 | 400-4740 | 4924 Katya Ln, Langley WA 98260 | $837,013 |

Both are in **Section 5, Township 29, Range 3E**; **Katya Ln is the private access easement**
(the "SUB EZ" in the legals) off the public road shown as **Brookhaven Rd / Bayview Rd**.
Both parcels derive from **Short Plat SP 79‑192** (ref. Book 383/Page 4650).

## 2. What was reported
A neighbor provided a **Chicago Title / Sentry Dynamics "geoAdvantage"** plat aid dated
**6/29/2026** with a red outline around a **cluster of parcels** (roughly Talka Ln on the north,
Goldsmith Rd/Aquila Dr on the west, Pinewood Cir on the east, and the subject block on the south),
reporting a **malicious deed filing** affecting them. No recording number, filer name, or document
was available.

## 3. What was done (sources searched)
1. **County GIS (ArcGIS/Sentry Dynamics)** — georeferenced the red outline and enumerated the
   affected cluster: **~79 candidate parcels** (66 fully inside + 13 straddling the line), across
   multiple plats (R32905‑*, R32904‑*, R33033‑*, and the **S7745 "Pinewood Circle"** short plat).
2. **Assessor/Treasurer "Property Access"** — captured current **true owner, mailing address, and
   full deed/sales history** for all 79 parcels.
3. **Auditor recording index (Tyler EagleWeb)** — searched by owner names (Rutter, Garibyan), by
   **all 79 parcel numbers**, by **Section 5 and Section 4 (T29 R3E, all document types, 2024→)**,
   by book/page, and by recent date + deed type; pulled the complete recorded-document index for
   every affected parcel and cross-referenced for any single instrument spanning the cluster.
4. **Washington Courts** (statewide index incl. Island County Superior) — person searches on both
   owners.

## 4. Findings
- **True ownership is intact and legitimately chained.** The subject parcels show clean chains
  (e.g., 401‑5010: Bloom → Rutter by Warranty Deed **#4565727**, 10/16/2023; 400‑4740 held by
  Arshavir Garibyan via Decree of Dissolution **#4383543**, recorded 08/06/2015).
- **No fraudulent/"wild" deed is indexed** to the subject parcels, to the owners' names, or to
  Sections 4/5 in the Auditor's public index. The only documents tying multiple cluster parcels
  together are **legitimate** (road/utility easements — incl. a "Goldsmith Road LLC" access
  easement, PSE easements — boundary-line agreements, and developer plats by J&D Builders / CCK
  Partnership).
- **No current litigation.** Richard Rutter has **no** Island County Superior Court case. Arshavir
  Garibyan appears only in **1996–1997** Island County cases (historical; unrelated to a 2026 filing).

### Interpretation
The absence of any matching recorded instrument is consistent with one of the following, which the
attorney/title company should confirm:
1. A **"wild deed"** recorded only under the **filer's own name** with a legal description the
   recorder could not tie to these parcel numbers (so it won't surface via parcel/owner/section
   searches);
2. A filing that was **rejected or is still pending** (not yet in the public index — the index
   showed some 8/2026 items marked "being processed"); or
3. A document the **title company plotted from an escrow/title order** rather than a recorded deed.

**The fastest way to isolate the exact instrument is to obtain its recording number or the filer's
name** — see next steps.

## 5. Affected cluster (working list)
See `02_gis/AFFECTED_parcels_FINAL.csv` (79 parcels w/ within/boundary class + legal descriptions)
and `02_gis/AFFECTED_map_FINAL.png`. Owners + mailing + title chains for all 79 are in
`03_assessor/owners_and_deeds.csv`. **This list is a georeferenced estimate**; the authoritative
affected set is whatever the actual instrument's legal description covers.

## 6. Recommended next steps
**To pinpoint the instrument (highest priority):**
- Ask the **neighbor** and **Chicago Title** (who produced the 6/29/2026 map) for the **recording/
  instrument number** or the **document** behind the red outline.
- Call/visit the **Island County Auditor – Recording** and ask them to identify any recently
  recorded or pending document affecting these parcels or naming an unfamiliar grantee; ask about
  rejected filings. (EagleWeb: https://auditor.islandcountywa.gov/recorder/web/)

**Protective actions:**
- Enroll in the **Auditor's property-fraud/recording notification** alert (if offered).
- Consider recording a **Declaration of Nonconsent / affidavit** and, if a wild deed is confirmed,
  pursue **quiet title** (RCW 7.28) and removal of the cloud; report to the **Island County Sheriff**
  and **WA Attorney General** consumer protection.
- Notify your **title insurer** to open a claim/inquiry and to run their own title search against
  the parcels and any suspect grantee.

**Once a filer/entity name is known (we can run immediately):**
- **WA Secretary of State – Corporations & Charities** and **DOL UCC** search on the entity;
- Full EagleWeb grantor/grantee search on that name; pull the document image.

## 7. Key contacts
- Island County Auditor (Recording): main county line 360‑679‑7366 / auditor.islandcountywa.gov
- Island County Assessor: assessor.islandcountywa.gov · Treasurer: 360‑679‑7302
- Washington Courts case search: https://dw.courts.wa.gov · Odyssey: https://odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov
- Chicago Title (map preparer) — per the plat aid footer

## 8. Evidence index
All files are in the git-ignored evidence folder with SHA‑256 hashes in `FILE_HASHES.csv` and a
descriptive inventory in `inventory.csv`. Highlights:
- `01_source-map/Malicious_deed.png` — neighbor's map (source)
- `02_gis/AFFECTED_parcels_FINAL.csv`, `AFFECTED_map_FINAL.png`, `cluster_labeled_roads.png`
- `03_assessor/owners_and_deeds.csv`, `SUBJECT_481106_detail.png`, `SUBJECT_481044_detail.png`
- `04_recorded-docs/recorded_docs_all.csv`, `recorded_docs_by_parcel.json`,
  `SUBJECT_deed_4565727_detail.png`, `SUBJECT_deed_4383543_detail.png`
- `06_court/WAcourts_GARIBYAN_results.png`
- `chain_of_custody.md` — full capture log with source URLs + timestamps

## 9. Round 2 addendum — additional sources (see 07_name-sweep/ROUND2_additional_sources.md)
- **Chicago Title:** no public search portal (professional Okta login only). Best lead — their
  local office can provide the **recording number / copy** of the document behind the 6/29/2026 map;
  if an owner's title policy exists, **open a fraud claim**.
- **WA Secretary of State (CCFS):** vetted **Goldsmith Road LLC** (grantee of a 2026 multi-parcel
  easement) — **ACTIVE**, formed 06/21/2022, agent/governor **James Baker** (Seattle); looks like a
  legitimate road entity. CCFS is the tool to vet the filer's entity once known.
- **Plat/survey:** captured the **1979 Gleason survey #3998621 (Bk 4/Pg 385, NE¼NE¼ Sec 5)** — the
  subject block's parent-area plat (SP 79-192 family).
- **Treasurer/tax:** 2026-27 not yet certified; no tax liens against subjects in the recording index.
- **Courts:** Odyssey = same Island Superior data already checked; no current case. Digital Archives
  redundant. SmartGov permit portal exists but path unresolved (not a fraud indicator).
- **Bottom line unchanged:** the malicious instrument is not isolable from public sources without a
  recording number or filer/entity name — obtain from Chicago Title or the Auditor counter.

---

## 10. RESOLVED (2026-08-15): the malicious instrument identified
The originating Island County Auditor communication named the scheme. The "malicious deed" is a
**sovereign-citizen land-patent quitclaim** recorded by **Elizabeth A. Schermer, QCD #4583924
(04/01/2025)**, claiming *"Lots 3 & 4 and SW1/4 NW1/4 of Section 4, and Lot 1 of Section 5, T29N
R3E"* (171.30 ac) — a blanket description that **covers the subject parcels' Section 5, T29N R3E
area**. Companion frauds: **Shroyer QCD #4582708** and **Ingalls QCD #4583923** (T30N R3E cluster).
The County annotated #4583923/#4583924 as **"INVALID DEED."**

**Why earlier parcel-indexed searches were clean:** the fraudulent deed was indexed under the
**perpetrator's name** with a **whole-section land-patent legal description**, NOT tied to the
subject parcel numbers or owners — exactly the "mis-tied legal / stranger-grantor" case predicted
in the self-index analysis. Searching the full county recording index for the **section + the
perpetrator names** surfaced it immediately (23,561-doc 2025-2026 index).

**Full detail + action plan:** see 9_fraud-case\STRATEGY_secure_legal_documents.md,
9_fraud-case\COURT_findings.md, and the captured instruments in 9_fraud-case\docs\.
Sheriff case **#26-I10572** (Det. Bo Miller); LAR pending with the Prosecutor to quiet the deeds.