MIAMI – Anson Jean-Pierre promised fellow Haitian-Americans that they would not only be “millionaires” if they invested with him, but that the hundreds of thousands of dollars they would eventually put into his company would develop business in Haiti, authorities allege.
But none of it was true, according to investigators.
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Instead, they say Jean-Pierre spent a portion of the money on things like Caribbean vacations, hotels, restaurants, plane tickets and groceries — for himself. Authorities allege he didn’t spend a cent on any promised projects.
The 61-year-old, who was already the focus in litigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for “affinity fraud” targeting fellow Haitian-Americans, is now facing state criminal charges.
Authorities booked Jean-Pierre into Miami-Dade County’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center Tuesday on a litany of racketeering, money laundering, organized fraud and securities fraud charges. He’s being charged alongside 50-year-old Edy Durosier.
Investigators with the Florida Department of Financial Regulation allege in a warrant that Jean-Pierre scammed investors to the tune of nearly $700,000 from 2017 to 2019.
They say he ran a company called Brothers Investment Group International, LLC in North Miami Beach, a city with a large Haitian-American population.
Durosier is accused of running Fort Lauderdale-based Advantage Realty & Investment Group. Authorities said he falsely claimed to be an attorney and law professor at St. Thomas University.
The pair held meetings in South Florida promising investments in real estate and agriculture in Haiti, an arrest warrant states. Durosier is accused of telling investors that he had developed a “renewable energy device” that would provide solar power and Internet services to the impoverished Caribbean nation.
Brothers International, authorities said, also sold fake “foreign diplomatic classes” for $600, promising investors that after paying and completing the course, they would be “recognized as highly-ranked representatives of (the company) with special privileges when they traveled internationally.”
Durosier told investors in Brothers’ “Real Estate Group” that he would apply for credit cards on their behalf and obtain cash advances, which would then be used to “buy and flip” homes in Miami-Dade County, authorities said.
The warrant states Jean-Pierre didn’t “invest in a single revenue-generating project, but continuously told investors that their money was in the bank when, in fact, he had already spent it.”
The only thing resembling an investment by Brothers was $60,000 wired to BurgerIM Group USA, Inc. as a down payment for a burger franchise, authorities allege, but “(n)one of the investors gave money for investment in a burger franchise.”
That money was later returned to Brothers. In addition to money spent on Jean-Pierre’s personal expenses, authorities allege Brothers spent $200,000 in “consulting fees” for projects without informing investors.
Authorities said Jean-Pierre did pay some investors about $21,000 — to quell complaints about Brothers Investment.
According to jail records, Jean-Pierre, who’s facing more than 40 felonies, was being held in Miami-Dade’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $730,000 bond as of Wednesday afternoon.
Durosier, despite facing similar charges, is not yet listed in Miami-Dade or Broward court or jail records. It’s not yet clear if he’s been located.
Read the warrant: