How to protect my deals from thieves?!

[Richard Rodriguez]

There is an investor in my area that is having the owner sign the deed over to him while I'm in contract to purchase the property from the owner. 

I have been told that I would have to file a lawsuit against him. This investor has done this to a colleague of mine and informed me that the investor (theif) is well aware that he would be put in litigation but will end up having to be paid off. My colleague did exactly that with this investor. 

What can I do, if anything, to prevent this from happening? 

[Eliott Elias]

You can file a memorandum of contract to could title. This is what I do, I am not suggesting it.