Convicted robber and forger takes over Venetian Isles bayfront home
By Susan Taylor Martin
Tampa Bay Times
Published: Nov 6, 2014

To neighbors, it seemed odd that the bayfront home in St. Petersburg's upscale Venetian Isles had been vacant for more than two years.

But that was nothing compared to a series of peculiar real estate transactions that began Aug. 23.

That's when the owners, a married couple, deeded the house to a company called B.I.G - Believe in God - Real Estate Holdings.

On Sept. 15, it deeded the house to Famous Properties Inc. of St. Petersburg. The same day, a man named P. Jay Banks got power of attorney to handle all matters involving the 2,500-square-foot home.

It all smelled "fishy,'' as one neighbor put it.

Now, the Tennessee lawyer who supposedly notarized the power of attorney document says he never saw it and calls it "a complete forgery.'' Famous Properties has a St. Petersburg address that doesn't exist. And P. Jay Banks is Patrick Jay Banks, a convicted robber, forger and self-proclaimed "pastor'' awaiting trial on charges of defrauding a federal drug-treatment program.

In the meantime, while out on bail, Banks has started remodeling the nearly $1 million home on Tampa Bay and is using his power of attorney to try to halt foreclosure proceedings.

Venetian Isles, a deed-restricted community in northeast St. Petersburg, is no stranger to unusual real estate transactions rooted in the housing bubble of the mid-2000s. One man who later went to federal prison forged an elderly couples' signatures on loan documents to obtain a canalfront house. A nearby home was mortgaged for a suspiciously large amount by a California man who never lived there.

About that same time, Nguyet-Hang Ashley Vu and Thinh D. Phan paid $990,000 for a house at 2010 Carolina Circle NE. The Bank of New York Mellon had started foreclosing when Tropical Storm Debby hit in 2012, knocking off a huge section of seawall and heavily damaging the pool. The couple left that year and never returned.

For several months, neighbors watched in alarm as erosion threatened their properties. Under pressure from the city, the bank finally repaired the seawall and filled in the pool.

The house sat untouched until last month when two residents out for a walk encountered a man who introduced himself as Patrick Banks. He told them that he was the new owner and that he and his wife planned to move in after they finished the cleanup and repairs.

Given that others had made unsuccessful attempts to buy the house, the ease with which Banks seemingly acquired it piqued curiosity.

"It just sounded all so fishy,'' said Linda Testa, a Venetian Isles resident. "I'm on the deed restrictions committee, so I'm always looking to see if there are changes of ownership because if there are violations (of restrictions), we definitely contact the new owners.''

She discovered records purportedly showing that the Vietnamese couple deeded the house to B.I.G., which, in turn, deeded it to Famous Properties. Both companies "seemed to be fictitious,'' she said, and no money appeared to have changed hands.

Also curious was the power of attorney document in which the couple purportedly authorized Banks to represent them in foreclosure proceedings or the sale of the house. Although filed in Pinellas County, it looked as if it had been notarized in Shelby County, Tenn., with the signature and notary stamp of Boyd Rhodes.

The Tampa Bay Times emailed a copy to Rhodes, who is a lawyer in Memphis.

"That's not my signature, that's not my seal and that's not my (notary) expiration date,'' he said this week. "I don't recognize any of the names on there. It's an obvious fabrication.''

The Pinellas clerk's office generally accepts powers of attorney without question, Clerk Ken Burke said. But "if we know of something that's improper or illegal, we'd refer it to the state attorney.''

On Oct. 21, Banks filed a 28-page motion in Pinellas Circuit Court seeking to have the foreclosure case dismissed. The motion was signed " Attorney in Fact for Nguyet-Hang Ashley Vu by P. Jay Banks.''

The signature is nearly identical to one he used several years ago when a nonprofit organization, New Directions Bible, accused him of improperly deeding some of its property to a halfway house Banks then ran. A judge canceled the deeds, returning the property to New Directions.

Last year, Banks was arrested on felony charges of defrauding a federal substance-abuse treatment program and investors in another halfway house venture out of as much as $50,000. Trial is set for February.

Now 50, Banks spent eight years in a Texas prison in the 1990s for robbery and forgery before he moved to Pinellas and began calling himself "Pastor Banks.'' He did not respond to a note left at his last known address and could not be contacted by phone. The Times also tried to reach him through his attorney to no avail.

The Vietnamese couple, who records show have been in the nail-salon business, did not respond to phone calls. After leaving St. Petersburg, they moved to a house in Tampa that also is in foreclosure, records show.

As for the Venetian Isles house, there were no signs of activity this week, except for the removal of a big Dumpster that had been filled to the brim with construction debris. Testa, of the deed restrictions committee, suspects it will be some time before the home's fate is clearly settled.

"I don't think he could sell it,'' Testa said referring to Banks, "because the title is so clouded now with these . . . deeds. That property is in flux - it almost seems like there isn't an owner.''

Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Susan Taylor Martin can be contacted at smartin@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8642. Follow@susankate.