Sep 8, 2026 · 52 min
Forged identities turn vulnerable homeowners into targets
Legally Brunette: Do You Really Know Your Neighbors?
The case shows how identity theft, elder exploitation, and real-estate fraud converged around a missing homeowner without a murder conviction.
- 1Caroline Hareling and Speedy allegedly targeted vulnerable or deceased homeowners through forged identities, trusts, wills, and property records.
- 2A welfare check and anonymous tip helped investigators connect suspicious transactions, fake identities, and Charles Wilding’s disappearance.
- 3Hareling received a 20-year federal sentence after pleading guilty, with Charles’s body disposal treated as an aggravating factor.
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Caroline reportedly described moving, dismembering, and disposing of Charles Wilding’s body in San Francisco Bay, although his remains were never recovered.
The brief
Caroline Hareling and Matthew Jason Croth, known as Speedy, allegedly searched for vulnerable properties and used forged identities, trusts, and estate documents to control homes and assets.
Charles Wilding became the central target: Speedy allegedly entered his home while he was alive, then stole mail, jewelry, and identifying documents after finding him dead.
The scheme widened when a vacant-looking home linked to Robert Tasson was sold for $1.5 million using forged identification, alongside a fabricated will involving a purported $1.7 million estate.
An anonymous tip led Detective Mark O’Donnell back to the welfare check, where neighbors, records, a fake Charles, and a suspicious wire transfer exposed a coordinated operation.
Caroline reportedly confessed to moving and disposing of Charles’s body, but no remains were recovered; she later received 20 years after pleading guilty to conspiracy-related charges.
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