STRATEGY: Securing Legal & Court Documents — Island County Land-Patent Deed Fraud

Prepared for: property owner (re: neighbor Paul A. Neis, parcel R32905-532-4810) + affected cluster

Date: 2026-08-15 | Status: investigation stage (no court case filed yet)

This is an evidence-gathering and document-preservation strategy, not legal advice. Share it with your attorney, the affected neighbors, Detective Bo Miller, and your title company.

1. What happened (established from primary records)

Three individuals recorded sovereign-citizen "land-patent" quitclaim deeds in Island County, each purporting to be the "successor in interest" to an 1800s U.S. Land Patent and quitclaiming large acreage to themselves (grantor = grantee), for no consideration, citing misapplied case law (Bagnell v. Broderick; U.S. v. Stone; Collins v. Bartlett). All were notarized by the same notary, John S. Hicks (commission #194569). The County recorded them (recording ≠ validity) and later annotated two in its index as "INVALID DEED."

Supporting perpetrator filings (also recorded): Shroyer Notices #4582592, #4582709 and Declaration #4583915; Ingalls/Schermer Notices #4583965/#4583966 and Declarations #4585251/#4585252. All captured (PDF + OCR) in 09_fraud-case\docs.

Paul Neis's property (R32905-532-4810, Section 5, T29N R3E; owners Paul A. Neis & Stephanie Madsen-Neis; clean BECU mortgage chain) falls within the land blanketed by **Schermer QCD

4583924**. Your own two parcels (Sec 5, T29N R3E) are in the same targeted description.

2. The core legal reality (why title companies balk)

• Recording a document makes it public and historical, not legal or binding (per the Auditor).
• A land-patent quitclaim from a stranger-to-title conveys nothing — you cannot receive title from someone who never had it. These deeds are void on their face.
• BUT a recorded void deed still creates a cloud: title underwriters see a competing recorded claim and decline to insure a sale/refinance until it is removed of record. That is the practical harm to Neis and every owner in the two clusters.
• Removal of record generally requires either a court order (quiet title / declaratory judgment or the County's LAR-driven action) or, sometimes, a recorded release — which fraudsters may demand payment for ("buy back"/"quiet" your own land): do not pay them.

3. Documents to SECURE — by source (with status)

A. County Auditor / Recorder — recorded instruments ✅ DONE (keep certified copies)

• Have (PDF+OCR): the 3 fraudulent QCDs, all supporting notices/declarations, and each victim's legitimate chain. Action: order CERTIFIED copies of #4582708, #4583923, #4583924 (and the supporting filings) from the Auditor — certified copies are what a court and title company want. Contact: Mariah Warren-Madsen, Licensing & Recording Manager, 360-679-7368, m.knoblich@islandcountywa.gov, 1 NE 7th St Ste 105, Coupeville.
• Also request: the Auditor's index annotation record showing "INVALID DEED," and any rejection/correction documentation.

B. Island County Sheriff — criminal investigation ⬜ REQUEST

• Case #26-I10572 (fraud), Detective/POC Bo Miller.
• Action: (1) file/confirm you are a named victim so you receive updates; (2) submit your own victim impact statement (title-insurance denial = concrete financial harm — the detective specifically asked for these); (3) request a copy of the incident/case report (may be limited while open, but request now and again at closure); (4) give him the WA Courts background hits (COURT_findings.md) and the perpetrators' mailing addresses (Shroyer & Schermer: 8406 6th Ave NW, Seattle 98117; Ingalls: 807 N 36th St, Seattle 98103; notary John S. Hicks #194569).

C. Prosecuting Attorney — LAR & any charging/quiet-title ⬜ REQUEST

• A Legal Action Request (LAR) was submitted via Auditor Sheilah Crider to have the County quiet the two QCDs.
• Action: ask the Prosecutor's office for the status of the LAR, whether the County will file a quiet-title/declaratory action, and whether criminal charges (e.g., RCW 40.16.030 filing a false instrument; RCW 9A.60 forgery; RCW 9.38.060 false lien/claim) will follow the Sheriff's investigation. Request to be notified of any case number when filed.

D. Courts — filed cases ⬜ MONITOR (none in Island County yet)

• WA Courts person search shows no Island County case for Shroyer/Schermer/Ingalls yet (background hits are other counties/older — see COURT_findings.md).
• Action: set a recurring check (dw.courts.wa.gov Person Search + Island County Superior Court) for a new quiet-title, declaratory-judgment, or criminal case naming these parties. When one appears, pull the full docket + judgment (JIS "Judgment Available" links) and, if it quiets these deeds, record the judgment against the affected parcels.

E. Title company (Chicago Title / others) — claims & underwriting record ⬜ REQUEST

• Action for Neis (and you): open/confirm an owner's title-insurance claim for the recorded cloud; request in writing the underwriting denial (the letter/notes stating why they won't insure over #4583924) — this documents damages for the Sheriff/Prosecutor and your attorney. Ask the title officer for a current date-down/commitment listing the fraudulent QCD as an exception, and ask them to flag the parcels in their title plant and monitor for re-filings.

F. Your attorney — civil remedies ⬜ ENGAGE

• Options to discuss: quiet-title action (RCW 7.28) and/or statutory action to remove a fraudulent/unauthorized recorded instrument; slander-of-title damages; coordinating with the County's LAR so owners aren't each separately litigating. Preserve everything in this package.

4. Immediate action checklist (next 1–2 weeks)

1. [ ] Order certified copies of #4582708, #4583923, #4583924 (+ supporting) from the Auditor.
2. [ ] Contact Det. Bo Miller (#26-I10572): register as victim, submit impact statement, hand over COURT_findings.md + perpetrator addresses + notary #.
3. [ ] Ask the Prosecutor for LAR status and whether County will file quiet-title/charges.
4. [ ] Open title-insurance claims (Neis + you); get the denial letter in writing.
5. [ ] Engage your attorney; decide quiet-title vs. riding the County's LAR action.
6. [ ] Start a court-monitoring cadence for Island County filings against the three names.
7. [ ] Circulate this package to the other affected owners (both the T29N and T30N clusters).

5. Evidence already captured (this package)

• 09_fraud-case\docs\ — the 3 fraudulent QCDs + supporting filings (PDF + OCR .txt + meta).
• 09_fraud-case\NAME_SEARCH_alltime.csv — all-time EagleWeb footprint of the perpetrators.
• 09_fraud-case\COURT_findings.md (+ COURT_Shroyer_Douglas.png) — WA Courts background.
• 08_self-index\INDEX_2025_2026.csv — full county recording index (23,561 docs) proving the fraudulent QCDs and that no other instrument in the window names your owners.
• 03_assessor\owners_and_deeds.csv — verified true-owner chains (incl. Neis) = proof of ownership.

Do NOT contact or pay the perpetrators. Route everything through the Sheriff, Prosecutor, your attorney, and the title company.