An Orange County man posing as a real estate agent is accused of scamming one family out of a home, then stealing tens of thousands of dollars from another woman who tried to buy the house.
Orange County detectives arrested Dave B. Howell Junior on a charge of scheming to defraud on Friday. Investigators say Howell, who doesn’t have a real estate license, contacted a family and offered to sell their home in a short sale.
But detectives say when the family signed the paperwork for the short sale, they instead signed over the deed to the property to Howell.
“In essence, they transferred ownership to him,” said Detective William Cruz.
Howell then allegedly found a buyer for the property, and had her sign an “as is” contract and give her two checks worth a total of $45,000 for a down payment. But the money disappeared.
“Number 1, the transaction never closed,” Cruz said. “And number 2, the bank account where the suspect deposited this escrow of $45,000 was completely depleted, misappropriated, ultimately stolen.”
Howell’s business was called National Constultants LLC, and ran out of an office on Hiawassee Road. Investigators say Howell believed his business was legitimate, and they suspect he has many more victims. Detectives are asking anyone who has done business with him in the past to contact the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
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