# The golf course deed forgery

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "The golf course deed forgery," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-golf-course-deed-forgery/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*The property fraud John Kiriakou encountered at FCI Loretto, a prisoner who forged papers transferring ownership of a golf course to himself and then began charging people rent, and the place such crimes occupy in the prison's own hierarchy of offences.*

- **The offence:** Property fraud
- **The method:** Forged papers transferring ownership of a golf course to himself
- **What he did next:** Charged people rent
- **Why it stood out:** 'Property fraud, which I had never heard of before'
- **The comparison drawn:** The modern equivalent of horse theft, stealing a man''s livelihood
- **Where it sits:** Alongside arson, insurance fraud and mortgage fraud, offences nobody inside cared about

**The golf course deed forgery** is the property fraud [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) encountered among his fellow prisoners at [FCI Loretto](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/fci-loretto), and which he cites as the strangest charge he came across there.

## The crime

The man had been convicted of property fraud, *"which I had never heard of before"*, Kiriakou says. The method was documentary: *"he just forged papers transferring ownership of a golf course to himself, and then he tried to charge people rent."*[1][2]

The host likened it to the squatters who write up a fake deed, and Kiriakou agreed. He also endorsed the reason such offences are punished as heavily as they are: car theft descends directly from horse theft because it takes a man's livelihood, and *"stealing a man's home is the same way."*[2]

## Where it sat in the prison's own ranking

Inside, the ranking of offences ran on different lines from the sentencing guidelines. Arson drew no reaction at all, Kiriakou knew three arsonists, and the only question asked was whether anyone had died. *"No. Okay, nobody cares."* Insurance fraud and mortgage fraud were treated the same way.[1]

The men who were disliked were the large white-collar criminals, and the reason was not the offence but the bearing. They were regarded as soft: *"Oh, you thought you were going to get away with it. Poor you. You got caught and now it's like, oh, I'm in prison, oh my god."* Kiriakou's own summary of the judgement is that *"it's a class thing."*[3][1]

## See also

- [FCI Loretto](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/fci-loretto)
- [The hierarchy of charges](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-hierarchy-of-charges)
- [The quarterback with a personal chef](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-quarterback-with-a-personal-chef)
- [The Italians at Loretto](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/italians-at-loretto)
- [The forty-seven suffix](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-forty-seven-suffix)

## Sources

1. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2025-07-25), at 1:03:27. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RypVxybJzHo&t=3807s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-07-25-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/
2. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2025-07-25), at 1:03:58. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RypVxybJzHo&t=3838s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-07-25-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/
3. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2025-07-25), at 1:02:56. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RypVxybJzHo&t=3776s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-07-25-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-golf-course-deed-forgery/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt