After the case of the Miami lawyer and her husband, sued by a man who accuses them of orchestrating a scheme to buy and sell houses and get rich, there are reactions.
A bill in Tallahassee could protect seniors from financial fraud and abuse of power. We spoke with Senator Ileana García, author of the proposal.
Based on our report, the senator contacted us. He told us that if his bill becomes law in Tallahassee, it will protect seniors from financial fraud, deception and abuse of power.
“What we see there and who is in his investigative process is some kind of abuse of power. If we present it as legislation, it is so that the police can act,” says García.
With her bill, Senator García told us that she seeks to punish the unscrupulous and to protect people like José Álvarez.
“They are going to face criminal consequences,” he says.
A few days ago, Mr. Álvarez’s lawyers explained that the house where his deceased parents lived, and which he inherited, had a debt of $271,000 for violating the code. For this reason, Álvarez went to ask the city of Miami for help.
“Someone in his family knew Victoria Méndez, who is Miami’s city attorney and she said to him, look, my husband has this business, he buys houses and fixes them. Mr. Morales told him that it was going to be very expensive to solve all the problems that the house had with the codes and the privilege, ”says Álvarez’s lawyer.
This deed shows that “Express homes” bought the house from José Álvarez. In sunbiz, said company appears associated with the name of Carlos Morales, husband of the Miami city attorney.
“I didn’t know how much he owed me, nor did he tell me how much,” Álvarez says.
In July 2018, Morales requested to appear before the code enforcement board where, through a motion, they would decide on fines. In just over a minute, the $271,250 was pardoned, according to the lawsuit.
“As public officials, we need to review all our laws and proposals, the way we work and the way we communicate, so that this kind of thing doesn’t continue to happen,” García says.
In addition to Sen. Ileana García’s project, senior victims of fraud can approach the Vulnerable Elderly Exploitation Unit which operates under the supervision of Miami Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández. Rundle.