Miguel Alberto Carrera {BSO}
By Ryan Yousefi
A Coral Springs man was arrested for grand theft after allegedly defrauding a victim of $20,000 as part of a Brazilian property purchase scam.
On June 13, the Coral Springs Police Department took Miguel Alberto Carrera, 50, of Coral Springs, into custody after a lengthy investigation revealed he had allegedly concocted a scheme to steal thousands of dollars from a victim to pay off his debts.
According to a police report, the victim claimed to have entered into a verbal agreement with Carrera to assist in purchasing a property in Brazil. The deal allegedly required the victim to send Carrera $20,000 to convert the funds into Brazilian currency before transferring it to the victim’s mother, who resides in Brazil.
Bank records provided by the victim to CSPD show that on February 6, the agreed-upon sum of $20,000 was sent to Carrera’s bank account via a wire transfer but that the money never made its way to her mother’s account in Brazil.
The victim told investigators that multiple attempts to communicate with Carrera were made, which were all met with assurances to the victim and her husband that the money would be returned promptly. However, after months of stalling and not delivering on the actions he had promised, the victim told investigators it became apparent that Carrera had no intention of fulfilling his end of the bargain nor returning the funds.
From late February to early March, Carrera allegedly strung the victim along by sending three checks to rectify the situation, all of which bounced due to insufficient funds.
It wasn’t until March 31 that Carrera did transfer approximately $2,000 into the victim’s mother’s account, still owing $18,000.
In the months following the $2,000 payment, the victims were again met with misleading promises followed up with no results. CSPD interviewed Carrera on June 7 following the victim’s filing a police report.
In the police interview, Carrera acknowledged having money issues due to being owed money from previous business deals. He admitted to using the victim’s money to pay off an American Express bill but planned to pay them back.
Following the conclusion of the investigation on June 13, Carrera was taken into custody and charged with grand theft.
Carrera was transported to the Broward County Main Jail and released after posting a $5,000 bond.
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