It serves as a warning to consumers to watch out for unexpected methods of identity theft.
Strange mail for names and accounts you don't recognize: it's one of the first red flags of identity fraud. And in this case, this woman did everything right; she reported it, flagged it, and still doesn't know why her home was targeted.
How it started
Surrounded by mail, 93-year-old Dorothy Lathan is searching for answers.
"I started receiving mail addressed to another company. First it was Chocolate Squirrel," she said.
Lathan says the piece of mail was from BMO Bank, addressed to a man named Carlos with Chocolate Squirrel LLC. At first, she thought it could be a simple mix-up. Her granddaughter sometimes uses the address for school paperwork.
"So I thought maybe somebody's calling her Chocolate Squirrel and she had told me to expect some mail," Lathan said.
So, Lathan called her granddaughter and asked. "She says she didn't think anybody would be calling her Chocolate Squirrel," Lathan said.
It's a mystery.
Yet, the mail from this "Chocolate Squirrel" kept coming.
"Non-stop?" asked 7 On Your Side's Stephanie Sierra.
"Yes!" Lathan replied.
When Lathan Googled the business name, a global chocolate import and distribution company was the main site that showed up.
"I mean I had no idea any of this was going on," Lathan said.
7 On Your Side tracked down the CEO, Ella Selfridge. She explained that her Chocolate Squirrel business is based in Seattle. Same name... Different company.
"We don't send any mail out. Nobody would receive a piece of mail from us, they never have," Selfridge said.
She says she trademarked the name in 2021.
"We've done all the documentation," Selfridge said. "Somebody was holding that name. We had to wait until it was relinquished."
"Do you know who this Carlos is?" Stephanie Sierra asked.
"I have no idea who this person is, who is using our company name." Selfridge said. "I so appreciate you letting me know. I wouldn't have known."
Lathan says since last summer, mail from two other LLCs also started filling her mailbox. Dozens of batches, from banks and credit card companies.
"I just wrote return to sender, return to sender!" Lathan said.
But the envelopes kept coming back to her.
"Finally I said, 'What is this?'" Lathan said.
So, 7 On Your Side checked.
The mystery man: Carlos
Turns out all three companies have something in common: each one is registered with the California Secretary of State's office, listing Lathan's home as the principal address!
Eva Velasquez is the CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a national nonprofit that provides free assistance to help victims of identity-related fraud.
"Any time you start getting mail for a business to your legitimate residential address, you should consider that a red flag," Velasquez said. "Because there are multiple business names with her address, that's a pretty good flag that someone is basically trying to hide themselves."
7 On Your Side tried to reach the mystery man labeled on all the mail, someone named Carlos.
According to the state, he's listed as the registered agent for all three companies, with an address in Oakland.
"I don't know who he is!" Dorothy Lathan told us.
So, 7 On Your Side investigated.
Stephanie Sierra went to the apartment building at the listed address and spoke to the property manager, Jenesys Rodriguez.
"Does an individual by that name reside here?" Sierra asked.
"Our company, Trinity Property Consultants, has no affiliation with that individual," Rodriguez said.
Meanwhile, the mailing address for each of the companies is listed across the Bay in a residential unit on Van Ness Avenue. 7 On Your Side went up to the lobby to check. But we were told: "No one is living in the unit."
And public search databases list no record of anyone with his name residing in the Bay Area.
The pieces to this puzzle, not only strange, but suspicious.
"It scared me. I'm too old to be bothered with this stuff!" Lathan said.
But Dorothy Lathan didn't give up.
What should you do?
For weeks, she made numerous visits to more than a half dozen state and federal agencies to report the issue, starting with the post office.
"I said this person doesn't live here," Lathan said.
Then she contacted the postal inspector.
"Told him they're not located here," Lathan said.
Then the Secretary of State.
"She wrote back that she could not just change the address based upon my word," Lathan said.
Then she contacted the San Francisco Assessor's Office.
"To be sure that my ownership papers hadn't been altered," Lathan said.
She even visited each bank branch in person.
"Bank of America... Chase Bank... Wells Fargo... BMO!" Lathan said.
The list goes on.
"The tax board...The county board...This is my police report!" Lathan said.
"You contacted the FBI here?" Stephanie Sierra asked.
"Oh, I forgot to mention it!" Lathan said.
Lathan did everything right.
But with no clear resolution, Lathan turned to 7 On Your Side for help.
"Scared to death that they might take my home!" Lathan said.
Lathan is referring to title fraud. While it's possible, Velasquez says it's rare with this approach.
"I've never heard of it happening this way. Title fraud, generally, is really sneaky, filing docs at the assessor's office," Velasquez said.
While using addresses between numerous LLCs can be done legally, it also can raise red flags.
According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, bad actors may link several LLCs at a single address to obscure ownership to conduct various types of fraud, like launder money or run scams.
Velasquez says in other cases, scammers may apply for various loans using the same address across entities, or foreign actors trying to start a new business may use a random home address to try and avoid verification.
"By using an established legit residential address, they can push those applications through much faster. They can circumvent some of those extra checks... That is my sense of what they're trying to do here," Velasquez said.
As for what's next in Lathan's case?
"It's really hard to guess at this stage..." said Velasquez. "The possibilities of what they are attempting to do, there's a myriad... What they will be successful in really depends on how else they're trying to show her connection to this business..."
And as our team discovered -- the key difference in Lathan's case is her name doesn't appear to be linked to any of the mail -- just her address.
Meaning it could all be legitimate business solicitations.
But right now, there's no way to know for sure.
Which is why every day the 93-year-old is fired up as she checks the Assessor's website to make sure there's no change in her property documentation.
"All I do is go chasing fires!" Lathan said.
"I want this damn fire out! So I can live out the rest of my years in this house. And not have someone steal it from under me," she said.
If you're experiencing identity theft, check out the Identity Theft Resource Center.
Take a look at more stories and videos by 7 On Your Side.
7OYS's consumer hotline is a free consumer mediation service for those in the San Francisco Bay Area. We assist individuals with consumer-related issues; we cannot assist on cases between businesses, or cases involving family law, criminal matters, landlord/tenant disputes, labor issues, or medical issues. Please review our FAQ here. As a part of our process in assisting you, it is necessary that we contact the company / agency you are writing about. If you do not wish us to contact them, please let us know right away, as it will affect our ability to work on your case. If we are able to assist, we will reach back out to you.