Couple Sued for Claiming to Own 8 Homes in St. Louis County

Two people he didn’t know had filed a notice with St. Louis County claiming they were the rightful owners of his multimillion-dollar Tudor-style mansion on Litzsinger Road. Without winning the challenge, Boettler could not sell his property.

“The crazy thing is that we didn’t receive any letter, nothing, from the municipality. Our title company never received any paperwork,” Boettler said. “There was no way to know unless you went and physically did a title warranty search.”

Boettler ends up owning one of the homes in St. Louis County targeted by a couple who claim they are part of a private nation and not governed by U.S. laws. The document they filed with the county clerk’s office, they said, follows “maritime law” and grants them ownership of eight properties and a 2022 Honda Accord.

Ronnie Ramael Todd and Janae Rocquel Motley presented the notarized document on Dec. 6 to the county clerk’s office.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, the county asked a judge to invalidate Todd and Motley’s notice.

But Todd said he is not a citizen of the United States and does not recognize the country’s laws.

“They’re suing me, but I’m part of a foreign nation,” Todd said by phone Wednesday. “You can’t sue me because I’m not part of the United States.”

Motley and Todd, who also goes by Ramael El, identify themselves as part of a group called the Moors. The Southern Poverty Law Center considers it an extremist group and an offshoot of the “sovereign citizen” movement. Its members theorize that black people are part of a private nation and do not believe they are subject to the laws of the United States.

Members have committed financial fraud and clashed with authorities since the group was founded in 1990.

Moors filed such liens across the country, causing headaches for homeowners and the courts and sometimes leading to violent interactions with police and embarrassing confrontations with homeowners.

Todd said he traveled from Phoenix to St. Louis to help Motley file the notice asserting ownership of the properties.

In the notice, Todd describes himself as “a particular people called Moor americas aboriginal manahatan (New Yorker) national, an emperor, a master merchant, a master mason, a shereef, God an admiral, a sailor, a pilot, a commander. ” And there are similar titles for Motley, who is described as Todd’s wife in the notice.

Todd and Motley used maritime laws and treaties, some from the 18th century, to question the validity of the U.S. Constitution. The document includes references to the 1836 Peace Treaty with Morocco and the 1796 Treaty of Tripoli, among others.

In accordance with these laws and treaties, the listed properties must be transferred to Todd and Motley “for present use and possession,” the notice states. The houses and car are described as “captured/seized/arrested/condemned/abandoned vessel”.

Some of the houses are chic. Bottler’s home is worth nearly $5 million, according to real estate website Zillow. Three others have pools and hot tubs.

But some are more modest. One is a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Florissant, and the other in Brentwood is a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home.

Todd said he and Motley picked out a few houses they considered unoccupied. The others Motley chose because he liked them, Todd said.

They were never in the houses, Todd said. But he said he is testing the courts.

“I want them to refute my action,” he said. “Let’s see which stock is stronger.”

The county’s top attorney, Dana Redwing, declined to comment on pending litigation.

So far, three owners, including Boettler, have sued Todd and Motley in St. Louis County courts. In each case, a judge ruled in favor of the owners, declaring Todd and Motley’s property claims invalid and ordering them to pay attorney fees. and legal.

But it causes an unexpected, expensive and time-consuming problem for homeowners.

Boettler spent about $10,000 over a few months on lawyers and court fees to clear the title to his home. The house was never sold and is now off the market.

“It’s just a huge waste of money,” he said.