3 People Sought in Real Estate Fraud Scheme

MIAMI – A woman and two men are being sought in connection with a real estate fraud scheme in Miami-Dade that has targeted more than a dozen victims, authorities said.

Priscilla Marie Contreras, 32, Yordani Carriles Diaz, 43, and Deinoser Bravo, 47, are wanted in connection with the fraud scheme, Homestead Police officials said Thursday.

Officials said Contreras would act as a Realtor and lure victims to vacant residences through social media. Once the victims were there, Diaz and Bravo would pose as homeowners and conduct money transactions with the victims, officials said.

“In some cases they would go to the extent of having their victims go to a police department, get background records, fill out paperwork, and then call them back and say, ‘You have been approved, but we need some type of down payment,’” Homestead Police Capt. Fernando Morales said.

Police said the group is involved in at least eight cases in Homestead and about the same number in Miami-Dade County.

“The Homestead Police Department believes that these subjects are actively engaged in this fraud,” police said in a statement. “We want to alert the public to these subjects and hopefully avoid further frauds.”

One victim, a father of two, said he hoped to move into a home after a long search for a place to rent. The man, who only wanted to be identified by his first name, Kenny, said he provided the group pay stubs, signed a lease agreement and paid more than $5,200 in a deposit.

“We saw the property, we like the property, we went through the whole process,” Kenny said. “We showed up with the truck, it was fully loaded. When we pulled up there were three other families, all here, everyone trying to move in.”

Anyone with information on the trio is asked to call Homestead Police at 305-247-1535 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

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