Four charged in Hollywood deed fraud targeting dementia patient
Four charged after Hollywood police say a dementia patient's $300,000 home was signed away via a fraudulent power of attorney and notarized deed.
Hollywood police have charged four people they say worked together to take ownership of a dementia patient’s home by pushing through a power of attorney and a deed he was not capable of knowingly signing.
Police charged Brandon Lee Miguel, 25, and Jordy Luis Perez, 25, with six counts apiece, among them organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, unlawful filing of a false document affecting real property, mortgage fraud, exploitation of the elderly, and money laundering, according to NBC6 South Florida. Monica Elizabeth Castelli, 56, is charged with kidnapping to facilitate a felony and elder exploitation. A notary, Derek Enrique, 43, faces a single count tied to a false or fraudulent acknowledgment.
Police say the victim, a 71-year-old Hollywood man living with dementia, put his name on a power of attorney and a warranty deed that moved title in his house, appraised above $300,000, into an entity the two lead defendants controlled. A relative who questioned the transfer alerted police, which set off a joint review by South Florida agencies: Hollywood’s department and the Broward County Property Appraiser’s Crimes Against Property Unit.
Why it matters
Deed and power-of-attorney fraud against a cognitively impaired homeowner exploits the same recording and notarization steps that make a legitimate sale enforceable. If a notary signs off on a document the signer cannot knowingly consent to, as alleged here, the county’s own recording system becomes the mechanism of the theft, not just the paper trail of it.
The numbers
Four people face charges. The two accused of controlling the buyer entity face six counts each, the real estate agent faces two, and the notary faces one. Police valued the home above $300,000. No sale price or buyer entity name has been confirmed through a reachable primary source as of this writing.
What’s next
The case proceeds through Broward County criminal court, where the four defendants will answer the charges against them. None had entered a plea as of publication, and the allegations against them have not been proven in court. The Property Appraiser’s Crimes Against Property Unit, which works with local police on suspected deed theft, continues to review related filings. No additional arrests had been announced as of publication.