Police: Texas man arrested for selling Cape Coral lots that didn’t belong to him

A Texas man was arrested after a six-month investigation by the Cape Coral Police Department found he was selling vacant lots that didn’t belong to him.

Edwin Eugene Swanson, 56, of Houston, is being held in the Montgomery County (Texas) Jail after his arrest Wednesday by U.S. marshals.

Cape police said Swanson was part of a scheme to defraud multiple victims of their property by using their personal information to impersonate them and attempt to, or successfully sell their vacant lots. The losses to the victims could have totaled more than $100,000.

Investigators said Swanson was able to sell one person’s property and keep the proceeds.

Detectives worked with local realtors and title companies to gather evidence and after combing through voluminous amounts of records, Swanson was identified as a suspect. Cape Coral Police Department Detectives also requested assistance with Houston Police Department to gather additional evidence, which ultimately resulted in a warrant being issued for Swanson’s arrest by the State Attorney’s Office – 20th Judicial Circuit of Florida.

He faces charges of grand theft ($100K or more), criminal use of personal identification information, and unlawful filing of false documents or records against real or personal property. All are felonies.