The title/escrow company can verify the owner, if we have the right sell and any other information that a lender needs to fund. 

Verify reviews in google or other platforms2.

I'm surprised by that value and would have thought the actual value is closer to the assessed value of around 1.5x the value of my lot -- the neighboring lot is identical but has a building and businesses on it, and is appraised at just $100k more than what their appraisal shows for the unimproved lot. 

HOWEVER, consult with your lawyer and/or property manager to verify the applicability of the law. 

While I don't want to jump to conclusions, the picture on the ID is 100% inconsistent with the person I have seen.I understand the seriousness of accusing someone of identity fraud without concrete evidence, but I also have a responsibility to protect the interests of our property and existing tenants.

And I am going to check with the planning dept to verify it is a "legal" 3-4 bedroom house.

It’s all verified by trained invest agents.

Also - if anyone has rental properties in this general vicinity who can provide insight / verify my assertion that its not a war-zone I’d appreciate it !

I find it backwards that they would place a tenant before verifying what amount that HUD would pay.

The last few scammers I dealt with had looked at public records themselves also and had done a pretty thorough job assuming the identity of the real owner, so just making sure the names match public records isn’t enough anymore.