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An elderly Florida woman claims she lost her family house after a neighbor convinced her to sign a blank piece of paper, giving him the rights to the property. Susan Eatman, 80, told Fox News the incident began when Mark Oliver, her neighbor, showed up on her doorstep and asked her to sign a "plain piece of paper" in April.
"I'd never seen him before, but he told me he was a neighbor to my sister, Jackie [White]," Eatman, who lives in the Tampa Bay area, said. "The property has been my parents' property for many years, and it is left for Jackie to live there as long as she lives because she's not very competent to see after herself."
Oliver owns a farm next to the house and already got permission from White to put some of his animals on the property, according to reporters. The 80-year-old woman declined his offer and went to a Cracker Barrel to attend a birthday celebration. That's when Oliver and a woman he claims to be his banker, Gaeby Doherty, reportedly confronted her in the restaurant.
Eatman alleges Oliver was "loud and obnoxious" inside the business while demanding she sign the blank paper. Eventually, she relented and gave her signature.
Reporters said that signature ended up on a quitclaim deed, giving Oliver ownership of the three-acre property and family house worth over $260,000. Eatman filed a lawsuit against him in May.
"We'll do whatever we have to do to get it back," the 80-year-old told reporters. "My parents paid for that property, and they wanted it to be Jackie's."
Oliver responded to the lawsuit, saying, "The deed is not fraudulent and was not signed under fraudulent terms," according to WFLA.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office initially investigated the incident and turned the case over to the state attorney's office. Officials said no charges have been filed.