MIRAMAR, Fla. – A pair of Fort Lauderdale men accused of swindling $1 million out of prospective homebuyers for a Davie luxury townhome development they had no way of building may have tried to pull off a similar scheme in Miramar, police said.
Tania Rues, a spokesperson for the Miramar Police Department, said detectives in that city are investigating Dennis Jones, Woodard Warren and potentially others connected to Omni Development related to real estate fraud in that city.
Police arrested the two men last month after they said they advertised a development called “The Falls of Davie” using stolen photos and on property they didn’t own in order to scam people into putting down deposits for new luxury townhomes. Authorities said the money went to food, entertainment and even restitution for victims of Jones’ previous fraud cases.
According to a police report, authorities are now looking into a development called “Sherman Villas,” located on Sherman Circle in Miramar. Advertisements for the property remained up as of Monday. In this case, Omni actually owns the land, according to property records.
Wire records in the Davie police investigation mentioned “refunds” for “Sherman Villas.”
“We do believe that there is a potential of more victims out there that just may be waiting for their townhomes to be built, and it’s never going to happen,” Rues said.
Miramar police said the latest victim is an investor hoping to buy two pre-construction townhomes at “Sherman Villas.”
No movement at the site and no contact with the developer prompted a call to police to get his $64,000 deposit back.
“We’re looking at multiple individuals that could have potentially been involved in this,” Rues said.
Like its Davie counterpart, “Sherman Villas” even has a still-active website enticing buyers.
Jones, 52, and Warren, 56, remained held at Broward’s Joseph V. Conte Facility as of Monday afternoon. Both men are charged with grand theft, money laundering and fraud.
Miramar police asked anyone who think they may have been victimized by Jones, Warren, or anyone associated with Omni to come forward and call them.