May 2, 2026
Imagine fighting to reclaim a stolen deed for years — only to find your newly recovered land is being used as an illegal dumping ground.
That's what a Texas couple says they’re going through. Shannon Bleau and her husband, Gerald, found out that her grandfather, who died in 2023, owned 11 acres of land running along the Trinity River in Dallas (1).
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Unfortunately, they also found out that, only a few weeks before her grandfather died of a stroke (2), the deed to the property had been signed over to a trust. Now a man named Kyle Boyd is accused of using a forged document to gain ownership of the property. He also allegedly let truckers pay him to dump their trash on the property, against Texas law.
With the help of an attorney, James Zoys, the couple successfully voided Boyd's deed on April 9. But damage was already done — both to the property and to Trinity River, which supplies nearly half of the state's drinking water (3).
"It's sickening. It really is sickening," Gerald Bleau told Fox 4 Dallas.
Boyd has been arrested on three felony charges of illegal commercial dumping. Joshua Fanslaw, a trucker, was also arrested on charges of illegal dumping. Boyd allegedly received around $10 to $40 per load from truckers, per the affidavit. He is accused of burning and disposing of the waste in the river.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
A suspicious signature and a notary loophole
The deed to the property was signed over to a trust only a couple of weeks before Shannon Bleau's grandfather, who was a Vietnam vet, died. Zoys says the quitclaim deed (4) had two witnesses and a notary stamp. Allegedly, it also had the previous owner's forged signature.
Zoys subpoenaed the notary and found that not everyone was present during the signing.
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Typically, all signers have to be present to get a document notarized — a system put in place to help prevent exactly what happened to the Bleau family. But, in the case of medical or other emergencies that prevent a signer from being present, Texas allows a "proof of execution by subscribing witness (5)." In this scenario, a credible witness has to watch the document be signed and report it to the notary.
Not all states allow proof of execution by subscribing witness, and the states that do each have different rules about who can serve in the subscribing witness role.
In Texas, the credible witness must either personally know the notary or give the notary the signer's valid and unexpired federal or state government ID (6). That ID has to have a photo and signature of the signer. A credible witness must also know the signer well enough to swear to their identity.
The notary has to record the name and address of the credible witness when notarizing the document. In instances of fraud, that witness could conceivably forge the signature, then either steal an owner's ID or convince them to give it up.
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The trash site won't be easy to clean
Now that the land is on track to return to its rightful owners, they're left to figure out how to repair the damage done to the property.
The Trinity River is overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Chad Eller, a spokesperson for the Corps, told the Dallas Morning News that "whoever is responsible will be required to remove the material and restore the area to its original state (7)." But it's unclear what that process would look like or how long it would take.
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Zoys says the estate has already received code violations and lawsuit threats from City Hall. A local waste management company has offered to provide bins and haul the collected trash away (8). But the couple still needs to figure out how to collect the trash in the first place. The Texas Rivers Protection Association estimates that millions to tens of millions of pounds of trash have made their way into the Trinity River alone (9).
This trash could damage the riverbeds and any local dams it runs into as it's swept along. It could also harm the local flora and fauna that rely on the river to live, especially if any of the waste was toxic.
How to protect yourself against deed scams
The first step to making sure your estate or your loved ones’ estates are handled properly is to ensure a will is drafted (10). Make sure you and your family members have wills that are updated at least once every five years.
If you're worried about forgeries like this one, you might want to check your state's laws and see if it allows proof of execution by subscribing witness. If it does, learn what the state requires (11) and warn older family members about what to look out for.
For example, if you live in Texas, make sure your loved ones know to never give away their government ID.
Talking to your older relatives frequently and staying in close touch can help you keep them from getting scammed. Check in especially with any older or ill relatives, who may be more likely to fall victim to estate planning scams. That way, you'll be able to spot if someone new enters their life and starts trying to take control of their finances.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Fox 4 News (1),(8); Dallas Morning News (2),(7); Texas Rivers Protection Agency (3),(9); LegalNature (4); National Notary Association (5),(6),(11); Forbes (10)
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Kit Pulliam is a DC-based financial journalist with over five years of experience writing, editing, and fact-checking financial content.
