She underpaid a property tax bill. So the government seized her home, sold it—and kept the $102,636 profit.

She underpaid a property tax bill. So the government seized her home, sold it—and kept the $102,636 profit.

In 2021, Manistee County, Michigan, took the title on Chelsea Koetter's family home, which she shared with her two sons, in response to a small debt she owed on her 2018 property taxes. It was April Fools' Day. The "gotcha" never came. Her situation instead only grew more absurd. Four months after seizing her home, the government auctioned it off for $106,500. Then it kept the profit. All told, Koetter owed the government $3,863.40, which includ…