🏀 If you’re a pro athlete, your game schedule isn’t just public — it’s a roadmap for criminals. Every fan (and thief) knows exactly when your house will be empty, which is why we keep seeing stories of athletes, celebrities, and influencers being robbed during games or while traveling.
The problem? Too many high-profile individuals buy luxury homes in their own names. That means their address, purchase price, and ownership details show up in public property records — information that thieves and scammers can exploit in seconds.
✅ A Florida Land Trust changes the game. By titling your property in a land trust with a third-party trustee, your personal name is kept off public records. That extra layer of privacy makes it far harder for criminals to find your home, target your assets, or use your identity in fraudulent leases or loans.
Whether you’re an athlete, entertainer, or social media creator, protecting your property isn’t optional anymore — it’s essential.
🎥 Watch the full episode of Trust This to learn how a Florida Land Trust can safeguard your home, your privacy, and your legacy.
Show Transcript:
Joe Seagle:
If you are a professional athlete, your schedule of where you are going to be, at what time, on what day, is published to the world every single season.
Hey, I’m Joe Seagle, your asset protection lawyer here in Orlando, Florida. And I want to talk today about the stories we are hearing almost daily—weekly—about pro athletes’ homes that are being robbed while they are playing the game. And it’s just driving me insane that this is happening, because it’s so easily avoided and prevented.
For instance, Bloomberg just ran an article in their U.S. edition called The Game Starts at 8, The Robbery Starts at 8:01. It’s about a group of young Chilean criminals who would watch when a sports team was going to be playing. They knew exactly where the quarterback lived—or some other big-name player—and they would just wait until the game started. Then they would break into their house, rob them blind, and leave, because they knew the house was going to be empty.
So if you are a sports star, or anyone who travels a lot, or if the public knows who you are, it is absolutely critical—especially if you are in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, or any state that has a land trust statute—that you do not keep buying homes in your own name. Because the moment you do, it gets published everywhere.
I’m looking right now at a story in the Orlando Business Journal: “Former Orlando Magic player Mo Bamba sells downtown Orlando penthouse for $2.6 million.” Everyone knew Mo lived in a penthouse at The Vue in downtown Orlando. Yes, it’s a secure building, but in other stories we see headlines like “Desmond Bane purchases Windermere home” or “Former MLB player Johnny Peralta sells $4.1 million home.” The public knows exactly where these players live.
And here’s the problem—athletes and young entrepreneurs alike are proud of their achievements. They want people to know they just spent millions on a house. Jonathan Isaac of the Magic buys a luxury home in Winter Park, and it’s all over the news. That’s great for bragging rights, but it also tells crooks: “Here’s the house, here’s the schedule. I know exactly when it will be empty.”
Now, had these folks used a land trust, two big benefits would have kicked in. Number one, the purchase price could have been kept off public record. Number two, with a third-party trustee, their name would never have been attached to the property. Crooks couldn’t just search “Desmond Bane” and instantly find his address.
This hits home for me. The very first home I ever bought in Orlando had belonged to a former boy band member back in the early 2000s. When I moved in, neighbors told me they were relieved, because fans constantly showed up, snooping around, especially when the band was on tour. That was one of my first lessons in how vulnerable celebrities can be.
Interestingly, the boy band members were often more savvy than athletes. Many used land trusts, sometimes naming a sibling under a married name as trustee, so even I wouldn’t realize who the property belonged to until the realtor whispered, “That’s so-and-so’s house.” Others used separate legal signatures for contracts—different from their autograph—to avoid forgery. They understood the risks.
But athletes? Too often they put property directly in their own name. They want the world to know: “I just bought this $4 million home.” And unfortunately, criminals also know. They check the game schedule, they see when the house is empty, and they break in. YouTube is full of videos of angry athletes discovering their homes were robbed.
This isn’t just about athletes. If you’re a social media creator, a YouTuber, an Instagram influencer, a TikTok star—your lifestyle is public. People see when you’re on a yacht, traveling, or on tour. They know your home is empty. Without a land trust, you’re opening yourself up to doxing, swatting, robbery, or even kidnapping.
That’s why my advice is always the same: if you’re in Florida, Indiana, Illinois—or any state with land trust statutes—protect yourself. Put your property into a land trust. Use a third-party trustee, not your agent or family member. Don’t make yourself an easy target.
Remember: the only place you want to be famous is on the court, on the screen, or on the field—not in the official records.
Thanks for listening to this edition of Trust This. If you got something out of it, please press like and subscribe, and give us a five-star review to help us reach others who can benefit from this series. Until next time, keep aspiring to a better life.
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