MORGAN, Utah — Shelly and Reed McDermott have spent 20 years in their home here, raising their family along the way.
“We planned to use this as the retirement home to sell and go into retirement,” Shelly McDermott said.
In late November, they reached an agreement with a buyer who also was a title agent. Ryan Goodrich, the founder of Synergy Title Insurance Agency, of Clearfield, agreed to pay the couple $1.6 million, according to the McDermotts and documents reviewed by FOX 13 News.
The couple says they were never paid. Yet Goodrich still borrowed against their home using documents the state of Utah says included forgeries of the McDermotts’ signatures.
“We think the signatures,” Shelly McDermott said, “came from our original, our title, that anyone can get off of the internet.”
There were prior lawsuits accusing Goodrich of not forwarding money owed to lenders, yet the Utah Department of Insurance didn’t suspend Goodrich’s license until after getting alerted about the McDermott case.
No criminal charges have been filed against Goodrich, age 39. He called FOX 13 after he learned the station was investigating him. Goodrich denied any wrongdoing.
“In our industry, reputation is everything,” Goodrich said. “As soon as my name is on the news, then my five kids are living off of hot dogs and Top Ramen.”
He added: “But nothing bothers me more than when someone questions my integrity.”
As the closing date neared on the sale of the McDermotts’ home, they repeatedly asked for paperwork and the money. Text messages from Goodrich, which the McDermotts shared with FOX 13, show he made excuses.
“Sorry, I have been super super sick,” reads one text message Goodrich sent.
“I fell down my stairs this morning from being so sick.”
A week later, he texted: “I have the worst food poisoning.”
Meanwhile, sellers in another transaction involving Goodrich’s title company were trying to figure out why their mortgage hadn’t been paid off. Besides making sure real estate is clear to be sold, title companies send money in the transaction to where it’s supposed to go.
“As soon as you disperse money [in a real estate transaction], you shouldn't have any of that money in your trust account,” said Scott Johnston, CEO of Titan Title Insurance Agency.
Johnston was asked to help investigate transactions involving Goodrich. He found records connecting Goodrich to the McDermotts.
He called them. Johnston’s news about Goodrich shocked the couple.
“He had forged documents,” Shelly McDermott explained, “and he had taken out $900,000 against our home.”
It was actually $865,000, according to documents.
“He put himself as part of it,” Shelly McDermott added, “on our title as the owner.”
Goodrich sent a lender a closing statement and warranty deed to borrow against the McDermotts’ house, according to the couple and findings issued by the state of Utah.
Shelly McDermott showed FOX 13 what she thinks Goodrich did. She believes Goodrich found a copy of their original title, cut out her and Reed McDermotts’ signatures, and pasted them onto a new document. Shelly McDermott points to lines on the new documents that she says appear to be tape marks.
On another document, someone appears to have scribbled Shelly and Reed McDermotts’ names.
“They don’t match,” Shelly McDermott said of the two sets of signatures. “They’re not even close.”
When FOX 13 asked Goodrich about the signatures, he replied: “Well, I can send you a document that shows their signatures were not forged.”
FOX 13 asked for such documents. Goodrich has never sent FOX 13 any documents.
The Utah Department of Insurance regulates title agents. It issued an emergency order Feb. 15 — that’s 13 days after Johnston filed a complaint regarding Goodrich — suspending Goodrich’s license. The order found Goodrich had committed the forgeries and fraud described by the McDermotts.
Other people have questions for Goodrich, too. FOX 13 found at least four lawsuits accusing him of not forwarding escrow money to lenders as he was supposed to.
None of those lawsuits drew the attention of the Utah Department of Insurance. Unlike a few other professions in Utah, there’s no requirement for title agents to notify their regulator of litigation, nor is there a mechanism for the Department of Insurance to get notified.
For that to change, the Utah Legislature would have to pass a new law, said John Pike, the state’s insurance commissioner.
“I think that could be helpful,” Pike said. “What is typically very helpful for us, currently, is when we get complaints.”
While anyone can make a complaint directly to the Department of Insurance, Utah doesn’t require what some states, including Missouri and New Jersey, do. There, title agents must keep a log of complaints they receive, which state auditors can review.
“I’m underimpressed,” Johnston said of Utah’s response to Goodrich. “I just felt like there's got to be a mechanism where we can stop him because he still has access to the money.”
The McDermotts never received Goodrich’s $10,000 earnest money, they say. Worse yet, the lender Goodrich borrowed from has a deed on their home.
“We cannot get this home back on the market and our title clear,” Shelly McDermott said.
On the phone with FOX 13, Goodrich said, “The money that was borrowed against the property was returned.”
When told that, Johnston snapped: “That’s an absolute lie! To this day, the money’s not been returned.”
“It's not about the money,” Shelly McDermott said. “It's about stopping him from doing this again, having him accountable for what he did, and letting the industry know: you've got some cracks.”
Goodrich agreed to an on-camera interview with FOX 13. He canceled the day of the interview.
On Tuesday, his attorney, Blake Hamilton issued a statement on Goodrich’s behalf:
“I have over 20 years of experience in the business of title and escrow services, and I have many satisfied clients.
“I take these allegations seriously and look forward to addressing them through the legal process.
“However, to protect the confidentiality of my clients and any proprietary information, I defer comment at this time.
“That someone has chosen to speak with Fox 13 does not take away my business responsibility to be discrete in speaking publicly about any pending litigation.”