HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A story first revealed by ABC13 Investigates has resulted in Harris County District Attorney Christian Menefee filing a civil lawsuit against two men featured in our original story.

This is part of a larger effort to prevent residents from being scammed out of their hard-earned money.

ABC13 was there when retired teacher Wanda Jackson’s belongings were dumped in the front yard in the summer of 2023. He was evicted from the house where he had lived since 1977.

13 Investigation: Felony case filed after retired teacher unknowingly left home for long periods of time

Our investigation last February revealed that Jackson unknowingly signed over the deed to his home to developer Malcolm Pryor while he was recovering from COVID-19. Pryor then engaged in a series of complex real estate transactions that culminated in Jackson selling his home to an investor named James Mayer.

Records show Mayer sold the house back to Pryor at a profit a few months later.

Pryor later allegedly failed to pay the mortgage on the house and it was foreclosed. Jackson would eventually be released.

Our reporting led to Pryor being charged with mortgage fraud by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Menefee’s staff noticed this, too.

“We had been investigating the scams for several months, but it was the story on ABC13 that brought Ms. Wanda’s situation to our vision,” Menefee said. “Since then, we’ve really tried to dig in and investigate, doing our best to make sure that what happened to him doesn’t happen to people in Harris County.”

On Wednesday, Menefee and her team announced they had filed a lawsuit against both Pryor and Mayer in an attempt to shut down their businesses. The lawsuit alleges that Pryor placed a fake mortgage on Jackson’s home and that Mayer made a lot of money from the fraudulent transactions.

“Mr. Pryor certainly attempted to defraud this house and was, in fact, successful in doing so,” Menefee said. “As for the other Mr. Mayer, it is extremely suspicious that someone would buy a property, hold it for six months, and sell it back to the same person at a profit.”

Menefee said his other goal is to inform all Harris County residents to call the Harris County Prosecutor’s Office if they believe they have been the victim of questionable business practices.

The office opened a website. ScamFreeHC.comTo make it easier for victims to report potential fraud.

Jackson, who attended the event Wednesday, wants the case to be successful but is also focused on preventing future victims.

“It makes you feel a little bit better that the district attorney is out here trying to help other people. It makes me feel a lot better because people are desperate when they don’t know what to do. Now you still don’t know.” “You won’t get your house back,” he said.

Jackson also says he prays he can eventually return home.

His old house is currently listed for sale, but Jackson doesn’t have the money to buy it back.

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