Boston developer arrested for miami organized scheme to defraud
October 30, 2009
A Boston developer surrendered to local authorities for his involvement in a 1 million dollar Miami scheme to defraud. Dennis Stackhouse allegedly stole money that was earmarked by the local legislature to revitalize Liberty City by building the bio-pharmaceutical park. A Miami-Dade County circuit court judge issued a warrant for his arrest for two counts of organized scheme to defraud and two counts of grand theft first degree. Stackhouse has hired a notable
Miami criminal attorney to represent him in this highly publicized case. Anyone being investigated or arrested for their involvement in an organized scheme to defraud should hire an experienced
Miami fraud lawyer to protect their interests.
The Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office is alleging that Stackhouse created an intricate
scheme to defraud revolving around his involvement with the Poinciana Project. The Poinciana Project was intended to revitalize an area of Miami that desperately needed the help. Stackhouse was supposed to build a real estate and commercial complex that would be home to several noteworthy tenants, such as Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle told reporters, "This greedy individual stole more than just money from our community; he stole the promise of jobs, hope and revitalization from one of our most needy communities."
Stackhouse leased 15 acres from the county which was to be used for the development. He secured funding from Tremont Realty, a Boston based finance company. Without Tremont's knowledge, Stackhouse secured a second loan using the same property as collateral from a real estate trust, Empowerment Trust. The arrest warrant alleges that Stackhouse submitted duplicate bill to both companies for the same work. Stackhouse double billed both companies to the tune of $600,000. The arrest warrant also alleged that he billed for work that was never completed.
The investigation completed by local authorities took months due the massive fraud. Authorities seized 53 boxes of documents from Stackhouse's office and subpoenaed numerous banks accounted to piece together the case. All of the monies fraudulently obtained from the lending institutions went into Stackhouse's personal accounts and business accounts for unrelated projects. Public corruption detectives from the Miami-Dade Police Department led the investigation.
Developer Arrested in Alleged Liberty City Fraud, The Miami Herald, October 29, 2009.
