7’s Heather Walker investigates this complicated and expensive fight for the family.

Joanne and Rafael Alvarez knew they wanted children. But it has been a struggle.

Joanne Alvarez: “I’ve gone for, like, multiple surgeries. We’ve put on medication, just various things, you know, and it’s just not working right now.”

They also tried adopting, but eventually decided to give up on their dream of having a family, until they got a late night phone call from Joanne’s home country of South Africa.

Joanne Alvarez: “In February, and it was around like 3 a.m., so I picked up and she’s like, ‘Oh, your brother, his wife just died. My sister-in-law. And, she left behind two baby girls, and they’re twins’. And I was like, ‘What?'”

Joanne discovered she had two-week-old twin nieces, Geraldine and Bianca. They were in foster care because her brother was not able to care for them.

But Joanne and Rafael knew they could.

Rafael Alvarez: “I’ve always wanted to be a father to girls. That’s always been my dream to have a little girl.”

Joanne and Rafael decided to file for custody of the twins. But they discovered getting the babies to South Florida would be difficult.

Joanne Alvarez: “So now, what makes it challenging is that we’re fighting this other family to keep my nieces and my family.”

Joanne tells 7Investigates her brother surrendered the girls into foster care after his wife died. Now that the babies are living with a foster family, he can’t sign over custody to her.

Joanne Alvarez: “So unfortunately, we have to go through the exact same process for an international adoption.”

And that process is not easy or cheap.

Joanne Alvarez: “It can range anywhere between 40 and $60,000.

Holt international adoption agency agreed to help the Alvarez’s. But the family court in South Africa set a tight deadline.

Joanne Alvarez: “They told us like, ‘Well, you have until May to get all your ducks in a row,’ so that’s when panic set in.”

At the custody hearing, the court will rule whether the twins can come to South Florida to live, or permanently stay with their foster family.

Joanne Alvarez: “It’s a sad situation. But we just gotta keep going at this point,. But at the end of the day, this is my family and I don’t want my family to be just ripped apart.”

Joanne hopes the judge will let her have the girls so they can be raised by family.

Heather Walker, 7 News.

Joanne and Rafael have set up a Gofundme to help raise the money for the adoption. If you’d like to donate, click here.

No one wants to start their day this way.

Arely Correa, car towed: “We got up early in the morning to go to work, and we were surprised when both of our cars went missing.”

It was April Fools Day, but this was no joke for Arely Correa and her mom.

They both had parked their cars, like they do every night. But the cars were gone the next morning, along with dozens of others.

Desiree Vannucci, car towed: “I came outside, and the vehicles were all gone.”

Desiree Vannucci says it was a shock for people living at Soleil Lake Condominium in Sweetwater.

Desiree Vannucci: “My neighbors were out here walking around, looking for their cars.”

When they called the condo management, they learned the cars had been towed.

But why? We went to get answers.

Heather Walker: “I’m with 7News. We’re here about the cars that were towed.”

Company employee: “This is private property. I’m going to ask you to stop filming, please.”

Excel Management Associates, or EMA, manages the building.

Off camera, we were told this letter was sent to condo owners back in January. It says the condo “Association has decided to change the parking permits and issue new ones,” giving residents until the end of February to make the change.

Desiree Vannucci: “They don’t notify us, they change rules.”

Desiree and other residents say they never received that letter.

Arely Correa: “We had decals, but they weren’t ‘valid’ ones.”

The management company tells 7 Investigates it has suspended towing, at least temporarily.

But residents say the damage is done.

Arely Correa: “It was, like, really hard. We lost, like, a full day of work.”

In addition to the hassle, they had to pay $165 to get their cars back.

Arely Correa: “It’s not like we all have that money. It’s hard; I know everyone is going through a tough time.”

The management company says it will determine if anyone can be reimbursed.

Residents are hoping to get their money back but happy that at least they have their cars.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Eleska Moore: “Come on, son.”

Health care worker: “Good job!”

They are small steps, on a long road to recovery for Jahmaar Williams.

Eleska Moore: “Right now, I just have to rely on my faith and rely on God that God will restore Jahmaar.”

Eleska Moore spoke with us Wednesday outside a rehab center in Houston — more than a year after her son was critically injured in South Florida.

Eleska Moore: “I’m still his voice, because he’s not able to talk yet.”

Eleska has been her son’s “voice” since March 4th, 2023, when he was hit trying to walk across Pembroke Road in Miramar.

The driver took off, and Jahmaar’s family pleaded for tips from the public.

Eleska Moore, March 2023: “My son is full of life, and to see him not be able to move, it’s extremely hard.”

Jahmaar, a 12-year member of the Army National Guard, suffered a traumatic brain injury.

In February, we aired a story as the agonizing anniversary of the accident approached.

Eleska Moore, February: “For me and my family, it has been a nightmare that you’re just not able to wake up from.”

Eleska shared her struggles while caring for Jahmaar at her home near Houston, where she brought him to live.

Eleska Moore, February: “He’s not able to walk. He’s not able to talk. He’s not able to go to the bathroom. He’s not able to bathe himself. I have to brush his teeth. My son is 6[-foot-]1, so can you imagine having a newborn baby that’s 6[-foot-]1? That’s how it’s like.”

At the time, Eleska’s problems continued to pile up.

There was this letter from the National Guard saying Jahmaar was facing an “honorable discharge” for “failure to meet medical retention standards.” Meaning, he would lose his health insurance from the military.

More bad news came from the Florida Attorney General’s Office. This letter declared Jahmaar ineligible for victim compensation because his “conduct contributed” to his injuries. The crash report says he “failed to yield.”

Eleska Moore, February: “My son was the victim. He was not the problem; he was the victim.”

We contacted the Florida Attorney General’s Office, and they told us they would reach out to Eleska about Jahmaar’s case. They did, and that’s when things changed — quickly.

Eleska Moore: “‘Praise God. Thank you, Father. Thank you, Father God.’ That was the first thing that I said.”

Two weeks after our story aired, there was another letter. This one said Jahmaar was eligible for money paid to crime victims.

And on Monday, Eleska got a check for $47,500.

Eleska Moore: “I do believe the story did have some impact. It did validate that he was a victim, because in the first initial report, they said he contributed to the accident. And that just bothered me.”

Eleska is grateful the state reversed its decision, and for the Miramar Police Victim Services Unit.

Valerie Menard, victim advocate program coordinator: “I’m just happy for Mom that she got some relief, some financial relief.”

Eleska Moore: “They did fight. They did fight to help me.”

And she encourages Jahmaar to keep fighting, too.

Eleska Moore: “You will walk again. You will talk again. You will be Jahmaar again, and I just have to keep telling him that.”

A message of love and hope for this soldier and father who turns 33 on Saturday.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

The case against the man charged with hitting Jahmaar is still moving its way through the Broward court system.

Florida Attorney General’s Office statement:

“Regarding the Williams’ claim, based on the additional information provided to our office, we were able to address whether the injured claimant merited compensation and complete our analysis to determine the award.”

National Guard statement:

“We appreciate your sharing this documentation and your interest in this courageous service member’s status. We are looking into the exact status of Staff Sgt. Williams’ packet, but in the interim the Florida National Guard would like to convey our deepest sympathies to Staff Sgt. Williams and his family. It was a tragic accident, and the men and women of his unit, the 927th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion, have done a number of things to help ease the family’s pain, most notably raising more than $15,000, but also assisting the family to establish legal guardianship, enrolling Staff Sgt. Williams in Tricare Reserve Select, and helping with the Traumatic Injury Protection claim. Additionally, the Florida National Guard Foundation provided financial assistance to the family by providing for the mother’s lodging and food while she was in Florida following the accident.

The Florida Army National Guard is required to conduct a medical evaluation board by the regulations outlined in the letter you shared, and those regulations also specify required physical capabilities of the service member. These regulations are binding upon the Florida National Guard, and the appeal authority is with the U.S. Army Physical Evaluation Board at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas.

As soon as we understand the exact disposition of Staff Sgt. Williams’ discharge packet, we will follow up with that information. Again, thank you for your interest and support.”

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

7’s Heather Walker Investigates.

Rose, mail carrier: “Back up, back up, you better back up.”

Rose: “I didn’t feel safe at this point.”

Rose started recording the minute she felt threatened in North Miami.

She asked us not to use her last name for fear of retaliation after a normal day on the job turned violent on March 6.

Rose: “Two ladies came downstairs. No one is supposed to come and take their mail or package or anything outside of those boxes while we’re delivering.”

But one woman decided to grab a package.

When Rose asked for I.D. or her mailbox key, she says the woman went off.

Rose: “They cursed me out, she charged at me while I was recording her, she got upset. She struck me in my face. She punched me in my face. That’s when my instant reflex went to go block, hit her back. I did anything that I could to defend myself.”

The police were called. In the report, it says the woman identified as Alexandra Remolien “was the primary aggressor.”

She was charged with battery.

Rose: “I had bruises on my arm. Then I noticed, like, my whole body was aching. I didn’t sleep that night because I was traumatized.”

Just when Rose thought things couldn’t get worse she learned she was being suspended from work.

A letter from her manager says she was placed on an “off-duty non-pay status” for “willfully delaying mail” and was told she can’t return to work until she gives an “investigative interview,” which has yet to be scheduled.

Rose: “It is no investigation to go on. The lady was charged with battery, I feel like everybody is like, against me, like I did something wrong. So basically, what they’re trying to tell me that I should of just stayed there, stayed on the floor, let the lady hit on me, beat on me?”

The manager here at the North Miami Post Office declined to comment.

But a spokesperson with USPS tells us that if mail carriers are ever in an altercation, they should call police, which Rose did.

Rose: “I was just doing my job. The person who went and attacked me, they’re living their life. She’s out on bond right now and I’m out without a job and that’s not fair”

She says the Post Office needs to do more to protect their workers.

Rose: “We was not taught how to defend ourselves on the street. We were taught how to defend ourselves from dogs. I also want them to be more sincere about our feelings. No one called me to ask me how I’m doing. No one cared to see my bruises, to know that I’m traumatized. They just don’t care.”

But Rose cares. It has been more than a month since she has received a paycheck and she’s going to keep fighting for her job.

Heather Walker, 7News

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

The past few years have been tough for veteran John Klindtworth.

Since becoming disabled while serving in the Navy, he has struggled to find good jobs.

John Klindtworth, renter: “I’ve been working just a ton of different jobs, and then, right after Thanksgiving, while I was recovering from a stroke, I got laid off from that job.”

Without steady work, money is tight, which is why he is still living in this Fort Lauderdale apartment where the roof is crumbling.

John Klindtworth: “This whole part of the roof just came crashing down, and you can see severe termite damage.”

Heather Walker: “Wow. I mean, this whole beam’s gone.”

John Klindtworth: “Yeah.”

Heather Walker: “And how long has it been like this?”

John Klindtworth: “Since October of 2022.”

We spotted holes in the roof on the other side of the building.

John said it has allowed all kinds of pests to move in.

John Klindtworth: “Termites, roaches, any number of pests to get in. The person who was in this apartment right here, number four, moved out because it got so bad. I finally decided, ‘That’s it.’ I called code enforcement. ‘This building is on the verge of being declared uninhabitable.'”

John thought the apartment would be safe because the South Florida VA helped him find it.

John Klindtworth: “I suffer from [post-traumatic stress disorder], and to constantly have to deal with this is just unnerving.”

John has repeatedly asked his landlord to repair the damage. But so far, he says, it’s only caused him more problems.

John Klindtworth: “And I’ve been labeled as a complainer and an agitator because I want something to get done, and I’ve gone all the way up the chain of command, to the state office of the agency that manages this building.”

Property records show the building is owned by Volunteers of America. It’s a nonprofit organization that provides affordable housing and support services for veterans, seniors and families.

John says his calls for help have gone unanswered.

John Klindtworth: “Every time I say, ‘Oh, there’s a maintenance emergency,’ this or that, they’ll say, ‘Well, we’ve got properties down in Miami that have emergencies that we have to deal with.’ Well, OK, is this missing half a roof not an emergency?”

We called Volunteers of America’s Florida office.

No one would go on camera, but 7 Investigates was told the process to replace the roof has taken a long time.

Plans were drawn up in May of 2023. The permit application was submitted late last month, and it’s still waiting for final approval.

And all that waiting has taken an incredible toll on John.

John Klindtworth: “But I have to stay here, because I have no other choice right now.”

And he hopes repairs will be made soon, because he just got a new job working from home.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

This is what Robert Heath woke up to in January.

Robert Heath, resident: “‘Bam,’ my back windshield is completely shattered, and it’s shattered so badly that the little tiny microscopic bits of glass [got] all into the back seat, some into the front seat.”

And over time, his car has been dinged and dented.

This damage was not caused by road debris or vandalism, but by golf balls.

Robert Heath: “These are just a few picked up in the last few months. One of these, though, broke the windshield.”

One of these also broke his neighbor’s windshield.

Nancy Taylor, resident: “I didn’t know what had happened. And two of the residents were walking by, and they said, ‘Oh, you were just hit by a golf ball.'”

Robert and Nancy live in Park Place in Pembroke Pines. The buildings in the condo complex are surrounded by this city-owned golf course.

Nancy Taylor: “The grounds are beautiful, with the exception of the hazard golf course.”

Bad swings can send golf balls flying into their community.

It’s a persistent problem, but not a new one. Just ask longtime resident Florence Hirsch.

Florence Hirsch, resident: “I’m living here 31 years. When I moved in, within the first month, the front window of my car, the back window of my car and three windows in my apartment.”

But what concerns them most is not their property, but their safety.

Florence Hirsch: “If that golf ball hits one of the people, they’ll never get up again. I do believe that. Those golf balls are coming at a hefty speed, and these people are too old to take it.”

Nancy Taylor: “I see what it did to my windshield, so I can imagine what it would do to my skull.”

Two residents say they have already had close calls.

Marcia Storm, resident: “It just missed me. I’m taking another step, and it would have hit me right in the head. Really. That’s the one time I got scared.”

Charles Heighter, resident: “It’s scary. It’s scary.”

Charles Heighter was walking with his grandchildren.

Charles Heighter: “I told them, I said, ‘Look out for golf balls.’ And right when I said that, here comes a golf ball. So, if we would have been a little further, it would have got one of us.”

We took residents’ concerns to the city, but it turns out, when a condo is surrounded by a golf course, finding a hole-in-one solution is very difficult.

Heather Walker: “What came first, the golf course or the condos?”

Christina Sorensen, Pembroke Pines Assistant City Manager: “Golf course.”

Assistant City Manager Christina Sorensen says the course was designed with larger trees and hedges. Still, she says, they can’t stop every errant golf ball.

Christina Sorensen: “Is the City of Pembroke Pines concerned about the safety of its residents? Yes. But there is an inherent risk living next to a golf course. It’s not something that we get calls about every single day. It happens every once in a blue moon.”

But residents say golf balls routinely sail into their complex, and they feel something more needs to be done.

Nancy Taylor: “I may see, at least four days a week, I’ll see a golf ball inside the community.”

Robert says he would like to see more netting installed and maintained.

Robert Heath: “It would mitigate, especially if you put it in the worst areas.”

Christina Sorensen: “I’ll commit to contacting the [homeowners association] for Park Place and just seeing if there’s anything that maybe they haven’t thought of that they can help their residents with.”

A conversation that could at least be a swing in the right direction.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Claw marks and scars from dog bites are all over King Davis’ body.

King Davis/attacked by dog: “I got bit, like up in here, in my stomach over here. And my finger is, well, one is broken.”

The 8-year-old is scarred both physically and emotionally.

King Davis: “I just feel so frightened and I start to shake a lot.”

King knocked on his neighbor’s door and when it was opened, the dog ran out and attacked.

King Davis: “I saw everybody screaming and on their phones and trying to hit the dogs off of me. It was a really scary time for me.”

His mom, Brittany, got the call while at work.

Brittany Sanguinetti / son attacked by a dog: “Couldn’t even like work my phone, my GPS, because I’m hysterically crying after seeing like on FaceTime so much blood all over the street and over the front door, the living room and stuff. Hearing him like, say to my mom, like, ‘Grandma, I don’t want to die, grandma, I don’t want to die.”

King had 11 wounds. Nine of them needed stitches and his finger was broken. This happened back in December, then two months later.

Brittany Sanguinetti: There was a muzzle order issued for the dogs. The exact day the muzzle order was issued, that’s when the dogs get out again. They chased my son and my dad from the car to the front door, like they were practically in my living room.”

A month after that, in March, the dogs were caught on camera chasing and biting a 14-year-old boy on the leg.

We reached out to the owner of the dogs.

Dog owner: “My dog is not aggressive. My dog is reacting to the nonsense that we’ve been exposed to for the last 11 months that we’ve been living here.”

The owner of the dogs says King provoked the dog attack by repeatedly banging on the door. When we asked about the second incident, when the dog was loose, the owner said he had no comment.

But King’s mom says this problem needs to be solved by the county.

Brittany Sanguinetti; it’s just really sad that it takes for another child to get bitten up. It’s just like they’re almost waiting for someone to die before they actually take action against these people.”

A Broward County spokesperson tells 7Investigates they’re aware of these dog attacks and have issued multiple citations but the dogs can’t be considered “dangerous” until the victims provide sworn statements to the county which the families say they were never told to do.

Brittany Sanguinetti: We have them on camera, we have pictures of them. What is it going to take for you guys to make these people be responsible for their dogs injuring people?”

Both victims’ families want the dogs to be labeled as dangerous. If animal control determines that’s the case, they will have to stay in one of these cages, be muzzled and microchipped.

Brittany Sanguinetti: “They’re a threat to everyone around here.”

But the threat may soon be gone because the dog owner says he’s searching for a new place to live.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Debra Davis saved money to finally buy her dream home in Broward, but it needed some work.

Debra Davis, homeowner: “We need a new roof, new windows, everything to bring it up to [Federal Emergency Management Agency] code.”

She signed up for a state program called PACE. It provides funding to make homes energy-efficient and safer from hurricanes.

Loans are paid off through a yearly assessment on a homeowner’s property taxes.

Debra was pre-approved for a loan and assigned a contractor.

Debra Davis: “The project manager visits, sees the scope of the work.”

Then a contractor comes to the house to put together a final proposal.

Debra met with Moshe Vakneen from Diaz & Russell Construction Company, but she didn’t want to work with him.

Debra Davis: “I didn’t like the way he was interacting with me.”

She told her project manager she wanted a different contractor. But before she could find someone new…

Debra Davis: “I get a text and it says, ‘I’m so-and-so from Diaz & Russell, and you signed a contract with us. If you don’t work with us, we’re going to put a notice to lien on your house.'”

Debra says she wasn’t worried.

Debra Davis: “We never signed contracts. There’s no notice of commencement. Nothing has been notarized. I’ve seen nothing at this point.”

But to be safe, she reported the company to PACE and withdrew her loan application.

Then she got a notice on her front door.

Debra Davis: “There is a notice to lien for $162,000.”

The notice said a lien would be put on Debra’s house if she didn’t pay Diaz & Russell Construction Company $162,000, the estimated cost for materials.

Debra called her project manager and found out she was also having problems with the company.

Debra Davis: “I feel like I was caught in the crossfire of whatever was happening with the project manager and the company.”

Iliana Fernandez says she handled all the PACE contracts for Diaz & Russell Construction Company.

She tells 7 Investigates that she had been having issues with her boss, Moshe Vakneen, and quit. And then, she started getting threats.

Man in video: “Iliana Fernandez is wanted by the police for stealing more than hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you see her, please contact the Aventura Police Department.”

And Iliana says the intimidation didn’t stop there.

Iliana Fernandez, former employee: “He sent me a message saying that I’m sending this video to all the clients, to everyone.”

The text messages appear to come from Moshe Vakneen.

Aventura Police say the case number on the video doesn’t belong to them.

Iliana Fernandez: “It is a fake video. I have not been wanted by any police. I don’t have any warrant on my name, and I haven’t done anything to be worried about.”

Moshe Vakneen would not speak to us on camera, but he did tell us he will drop the lien notice on Debra’s home.

The owner of Diaz & Russell Construction Company tells 7 Investigates that Moshe Vakneen no longer works for or is affiliated with the company.

Meanwhile, Debra still hopes to get her house repaired.

Debra Davis: “I’m going to hopefully find the right contractor to do the roof and the windows, and I will reapply with the PACE program.”

Putting her on pace for her American dream.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

The videos are all over social media: Fish swimming in circles

Gregg Furstenwerth, diver: “I had no idea what it was. I mean, I saw the fish spinning and I was like, ‘What is it’ and, you know, at the time I thought it was hilarious.”

But diver Gregg Furstenwerth soon realized the fish was in trouble and other fish were also struggling.

Gregg Furstenwerth: “Then that was like, ‘What do you do?’ It’s alarming and sad and depressing. Just beyond anything I’ve ever seen in my life. And I’ve been in the water a lot.”

Gregg has been diving in the keys since 2021. For the past year, he’s seen all types of fish spinning and twirling.

Gregg Furstenwerth: “I see this every day. Every single day. I can go out and see the fish struggling and spinning and dying.”

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission says 27 species are now affected, primarily in the lower keys from Big Pine to Key West, including the critically endangered smalltooth sawfish. Many have grounded themselves. As of last week, 20 have died.

Gregg Furstenwerth: “It’s heartbreaking sitting there watching a live grouper for 2.5 hours die. I’ll tell you that. It’s not something that anybody wants to see.”

And no one knows why it’s happening.

FWC is working with Florida Gulf Coast University and others to find answers.

Mike Parsons, marine science professor, Florida Gulf Coast University: “The typical causes would be something like red tide or low oxygen in the water. That’s not the case here.”

Mike Parsons is a marine scientist at Florida Gulf Coast. He has been studying in the Keys for 15 years. This is the first time he’s ever seen something like this.

Mike Parsons: “One interesting thing about this is so many different fishes are being affected. So that led to our hypothesis that maybe it’s something in the water maybe dissolved in the water itself.”

When fish start spinning, it usually means there is some neurological impact on the fish.

Right now the professor says their best lead on a possible cause is a microscopic algae called gambierdiscus. It’s a naturally occurring toxin that is normally harmless. But recent tests show extremely high levels in the water.

Mike Parsons: “It does remain a mystery, but we are making some progress.”

Greg says they need to move quickly before things get worse.

Gregg Furstenwerth: “Nobody knows what this is. Nobody knows how to stop it.”

Greg and scientists hope whatever the problem is, they can find a solution to save the fish.

Heather Walker, 7News.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM FWC:

Please report abnormal fish behavior, fish disease, fish kills to FWC’s Fish Kill Hotline either through the web form (MyFWC.com/ReportFishKill) or by phone (800-636-0511).
Eating fish from these areas is not advised.
Swimming where there are dead fish is not recommended.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

A small home, in a big development, at the center of a Coral Gables controversy, once again.

Orlando Capote, homeowner: “Definitely trying to make my life difficult so that I will leave.”

At a recent commission meeting, Mayor Vince Lago wondered which news outlet aired the latest story about the city’s famously defiant resident.

Mayor Vince Lago: “I’m not sure which channel it was.”

It was 7News that aired a story about a “notice of intent” to put a lien on Orlando Capote’s home. He was cited for a code violation involving this decades-old carport.

Orlando Capote: “It says that I owe them over $29,000 in fines.”

The notice clearly read the amount due was a whopping $29,958. Despite that, the city told 7News that “there are no fines on the property.”

So why the letter stating there was? The city now says, it was a mistake.

Coral Gables Assistant City Attorney Gustavo Ceballos: “Code enforcement didn’t enter in our extensions. We did them through emails. We were dealing directly with their attorney and, simply, our code enforcement system didn’t.”

Mayor Lago: “Honest mistake. It’s an honest mistake. But it flew like wildfire.”

Perhaps it flew like wildfire because every chapter in the Orlando Capote saga ignites passionate response from the public. And for the past 5 years, as the largest development in the city’s history began surrounding his home, we have been there to document it.

Orlando Capote: “I am in a bad marriage with the city of Coral Gables.”

But divorce is not likely. Orlando says he’s staying put in the home his late parents bought back in 1989.

Orlando Capote: “We came to America looking for the way of life, and this is not what has been done to me.”

Which brings us back to the carport, a structure not even visible from the public street and, Orlando says, it was here years before they moved in.

Orlando Capote: “As I told them, this has survived hurricanes and all the storms in the last 34 years. So when they look at the canopy cover, they say, ‘Well, that is not an acceptable cover.'”

Emails obtained by 7 Investigates in 2023 revealed the code enforcement case started after an employee for the developer complained to the city about conditions at Orlando’s property.

Orlando Capote: “This is what bothers me. What triggered this complaint was the developer.”

Fines of $150 a day started to add up, as Orlando and his attorney tried to resolve the issue.

Orlando Capote: “The city finally said, ‘OK, you can keep this structure,’ and that’s when we start trying to get the material approved.”

This is what the carport covering looked like when we visited last summer, and this was Tuesday, the day the new, city-approved cover was installed.

Orlando Capote: “This is not the biggest issue, and yet it’s being made a huge issue by the city. It has been a long, long, frustrating experience.”

But this battle ended in victory for Orlando. The cover passed inspection on Wednesday.

As for the future…

Orlando Capote: “I don’t think this is the end. I think they are just going to keep coming after me, making my life difficult.”

The city tells us, “Our goal is to work in a cooperative manner with Mr. Capote.”

Orlando Capote: “If you believe in something, wouldn’t you battle it and fight for it?”

7News Producer: “Forever?”

Orlando Capote: “Forever.”

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Heather Walker is taking their concerns to the county in tonight’s 7 Investigates.

Faith Davis has to get up at four a.m. just to get to work by nine.

Faith Davis/bus rider: “I have to take three busses, get up like two hours extra every day just to make sure I get to work on time. I have to carry my mace with me, you know, just to make sure that, you know, I don’t get hurt.”

Faith used to have to wake up at 7 a.m. before Miami-Dade County eliminated hundreds of bus stops in November as part of the “Better Bus Network” initiative.

Faith Davis: “It was just a big disaster.”

And she’s not the only one setting early alarms.

Maurice Byrd/bus rider: “I gotta get up an hour earlier now to go to work because the buses is much crowded and it ain’t too much room on the buses.”

Angry riders have reached out to 7 Investigates since we first looked into the issue.

Barbara Walters/transit activist: “When you’ve got a situation where we only had one bus to depend on and they’ve taken that away from us. I think there should have been more input from the riding public.”

Hundreds more are taking their complaints to Facebook. And the bus driver are feeling their frustration.

Jeffery Mitchell/president, Transport Workers Union Local: “It is kind of heartbreaking.”

The Transport Workers Union agrees with riders. The new system is not working. They say it was put in place by people who don’t take the bus.

Jeffery Mitchell: “The people that made the suggestions, you know, wasn’t invested in the community. Listen, who put this together?”

Union President Jeffrey Mitchell says he helped to correct some of the proposed routes before the Better Bus Network launched. But those changes were not enough.

Heather Walker: “What happened here? Because it was supposed to make things better but it seems its made things worse.”

Linda Morris/Miami-Dade Transit: “I wouldn’t say that, I would say that it’s still was always gonna be the Better Bus Network, not the best bus network.”

The county admits there are problems and it’s aware of the complaints.

Linda Morris: “We hear you, I know it’s been very frustrating.”

But it might get better.

Miami-Dade Transit telling 7 Investigates exclusively that 25 of the 70 routes will be getting schedule changes starting next month, which means some stops that were removed will be returning.

Linda Morris: “There’s obviously areas where we we didn’t do a good job, and we acknowledge that.”

Riders like Faith hope the new changes will make her commute easier.

Faith Davis: “We’re not asking for a big change, but bring back the busses that we really needed in our neighborhoods.”

And the county says it’s working to do that.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Fast cars. Dangerous doughnuts. And rapid gunfire. All taking place on the streets of South Florida, as seen on social media.

These dangerous drivers put all of us at risk on the road, and that’s why officers are trying to put the brakes on them.

We rode along with the Broward Sheriff’s Office to see how these illegal meetups go down.

BSO Deputy Rockne Arguello: “All right. So we may have one.”

Moments after getting in the car, Deputy Rockne Arguello was alerted to a meetup.

Deputy Rockne Arguello: “So, basically, this is an Instagram posting. It says, ‘MainMovement Fun Run Fridays.’ It gave an address up here in Coconut Creek, where we’re at right now.”

We went there and found local police had already broken it up.

Coconut Creek Police officer: “There were a bunch of vehicles here, different make/models, mostly racing type vehicles. They dispersed without incident.”

This meetup ended peacefully, but others have not.

Shazz Brown Mendez, Taiice’s aunt: “It seems as though it just happened.”

Forty-two-year-old Taiice Davis was killed when a driver left a takeover and crashed in Miami Gardens. A 64-year-old man also died, and five others were taken to the hospital.

Taiice’s Aunt Shazz still can’t believe she’s gone.

Shazz Brown Mendez: “She’s minding her business, and this was perhaps the happiest time of her life. She just came back from a fabulous vacation.”

The driver was charged with vehicular homicide. He took a plea deal and was sentenced to a year in jail.

Heather Walker: “He’s back…”

Shazz Brown Mendez: “…on the streets. She left four kids, and the little ones, they’re going to be growing up without their mom.”

Law enforcement is trying to crack down, making more arrests and writing more tickets.

In 2023, there were 2,485 citations issued statewide. That’s up 191% from 2019, when there were 854.

But law enforcement says the penalties don’t deter racers. The same drivers get back on the road after being busted.

Deputy Rockne Arguello: “It’s kind of like the cat-and-mouse game.”

Take this man, for example. Investigators say Jose Alfredo Martinez Jr. organizes these street takeovers.

A source tells 7 Investigates that even from behind bars, he’s continuing to set up events.

A new bill being considered by state lawmakers would stiffen penalties for street racing. Second and third violations would become felonies, and fines would be increased by thousands of dollars.

Shazz Brown Mendez: “It’s not going to bring her back, but it might save lives. It might deter some people from thinking about it.”

For Shazz and police, the hope is to make the streets safer for everyone.

On Friday, the street takeover bill passed the Florida senate without opposition. Now, it moves to the house. If passed, it would become a law this summer.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

7’s Heather Walker investigates.

A public park is supposed to be a place for everyone to enjoy.

Louis Moleron/plays soccer at park: “Just to come here, because, you know, it’s a relaxing time, you know. Sometimes we play one hour, two hours.”

Louis Moleron loves to play soccer.

Most Saturday mornings, he and his friends meet at Morningside Park in Miami, find an empty spot and play a pick-up game.

Louis Moleron: “Sometimes you can come here and it’s only five or 10 people.”

And sometimes, there are more.

Louis and his friends say anybody who wants to play, can join in.

But in January, someone who was not interested in playing, approached their group.

Louis Moleron: “I learned that he was the park ranger, and he said, ‘Oh, you guys cannot play here anymore.'”

The park ranger told Louis that he and his friends needed to get a permit from the City of Miami in order to keep playing at Morningside Park.

Louis Moleron: “I told him, ‘Hey, we’ve been playing here forever,’ and I’m not sure why they are asking us for a permit. Why do I need a permit, that’s a public park?!'”

Louis says the ranger told him and his friends they had to leave.

They tried to come back the following week, and were kicked out again. That’s when they were told they were no longer allowed to play here unless they paid an $80 permit fee.

Even our 7News crew was approached by a ranger.

Park workers have been shocked by the patrols.

Elvis Cruz/park volunteer: “Louis contacted me and he said that they’d been kicked out, and I was surprised.”

Elvis Cruz is a volunteer at the park. He has known Louis and his group for years and believes he knows why this is happening.

Elvis Cruz: “Lately, there has been a full time park ranger assigned, and the city’s apparently been cracking down on business operations being run in parks. And apparently, these guys kind of got swept up in that crackdown.”

According to the city’s park rules, a permit is needed for an “organized activity, program, or event on the City of Miami parks property involving more than ten (10) People…”

The city said Louis’ soccer group was organized because it was advertising, and charging people for alcohol.

Elvis Cruz: “But these guys do not charge anything, they don’t wear uniforms, it’s not organized! Anybody can come and play.”

Louis and Elvis tried to clear up the confusion with the city.

After 7 Investigates started asking questions, the city told us it had mistaken Louis’ group for another one.

Elvis Cruz: “There’s a group that had a meetup.com website, and they were asking for money, they were drinking beer afterwards. It was somewhat organized.”

The city now says “the Saturday morning pickup group is welcome to use the field as they have, but we will continue to monitor their use and online sites to determine if any commercial activity or vending warrants a permit.”

Elvis Cruz: “That’s wonderful news. I’m glad the city saw the light and that these guys can continue enjoying the park.”

While Louis is cleared to play, he’s not sure if his group will actually feel welcomed.

Louis Moleron: “I think I will still feel under the micro, I mean, we just try to enjoy ourselves, especially on a Saturday morning, but hey, I’m happy with the result.”

And happy he can still “kick it” with his friends.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Eighty-two-year-old Gloria Usheroff has a bad heart and a hard time talking after suffering a stroke. But she doesn’t let that slow her down.

Gloria Usheroff, resident: “I want to go to bingo, and I can’t.”

Gloria lives at the Five Star Premier Residences in Hollywood. It’s a sprawling senior living apartment complex which boasts about having live entertainment, art classes and movie nights.

But Gloria, who lives on the fourth floor, has a hard time getting to any of those activities, because her elevator is broken.

Carol Flynn, Gloria’s sister: “Since April, when we had that big flood. The one that she depends on, water got into the bottom and ruined an electrical part.”

Gloria’s sister Carol says, while there are elevators working in the building, they are too far away for Gloria.

Carol Flynn: “With the short distance of the walking that she does, her breathing is so labored. She has to stop along the way, catch her breath and keep going.”

And since she eats in the community dining room, she has to make that trek at least twice a day.

Carol Flynn: “They have raised her rent over $700 since the elevator has been down. You don’t raise someone’s rent when they’re being inconvenienced like that.”

Carol says she has been in constant contact with building managers for almost a year.

Carol Flynn: “I have over 35 to 40 emails back and forth about the elevator.”

First, she was told there weren’t any parts because of COVID. Then, that the elevator would be fixed in November.

Now, three months later, the manager told her they’re waiting on an inspection from the county.

Carol Flynn: “I don’t know what to believe anymore. One hand, he’s telling me he’s got a two-week window and it’s going to be up and running. Next text, nothing. No inspection, not even a date now.”

A county spokesperson tells us they did inspect one elevator earlier this month, but it failed because of several violations. After we reached out, the county also discovered that the working elevators did not have the proper safety certifications, which for Carol, is the worst news for her sister.

Carol Flynn: “It just annoys me because I would move her in a heartbeat, Heather. But being she has aphasia and cannot communicate, it’s hard for her to make friends.”

We went to management to find out when the elevator would be fixed. They told us to contact the corporate office.

Days later, a spokesperson told 7 Investigates, the elevator near Gloria’s apartment was fixed, inspected and fully functional.

Carol Flynn: “And without you, what would we do?

Gloria Usheroff : “Right.”

Carol Flynn: “We owe you a ton of gratitude. Thank you so, so much for putting her smile back on her face.”

Now Gloria can once again enjoy all the activities with her friends.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Social media started out as a fun way for people to connect with friends but now, parents say it’s destroying their children’s lives.

Some traveling to Washington D.C to confront social app CEOs in a hearing before Congress.

U.S Senator: “Have you apologized to the victims?”

Other parents want to sue for what has happened to their children.

Jennifer Biggs/parent: “She had been doing some content on TikTok and she was being bullied.”

Jennifer Biggs says her 13-year-old daughter’s posts on TikTok turned her into a target.

Jennifer Biggs/parent: “There was one adult in particular that told her to kill herself. She became withdrawn, and depressed, wouldn’t talk really, wouldn’t do any social events with her friends. Starting cutting. I cut off TikTok from her life.”

Jennifer wants TikTok to take responsibility for what happened to her daughter.

Jennifer Biggs/parent: “Please care about our children. Our children are what matter the most. Care about their content so that there’s no more harm done.”

She looked into taking TikTok to court for not blocking content that could be dangerous to kids. But like other parents, she discovered it’s difficult.

Kelvin Goode/Claims Hero: “They would try to bring the suit in court and realize that, no, that’s not allowed.”

Attorney Kelvin Goode says under TikTok’s terms and conditions, users who want to sue have to first go through arbitration and you need a lawyer for that.

Kelvin Goode/Claims Hero: “These lawyers want to charge them by the hour. It was something that they couldn’t afford.”

You can only proceed to court if there is no agreement during arbitration. But there’s another hurdle. You have to hire a lawyer licensed to practice in California because, in the fine print, TikTok says that’s the only state where you can file.

Kelvin Goode/Claims Hero: “So imagine you’re in Florida and you have a claim against TikTok. You have to travel all the way to California to find a lawyer, all the way in California, to represent you.”

Goode has heard from thousands of families who want to take on social media giants. So he created a website called “Claims Hero.” It links parents with legal resources.

Kelvin Goode/Claims Hero: “Kids are in a mental health crisis right now. So I had to take action.”

Claims Hero isn’t a law firm and it doesn’t offer legal advice. But it does help people communicate with lawyers and navigate the arbitration process. So far, more than 6,000 families across the country have signed up.

Kelvin Goode/Claims Hero: “We’re getting hundreds of submissions a day of parents all saying like, the same thing: Their kids are addicted to this app.”

Right now claims Hero is focusing on TikTok but Goode says they intend to expand to other social media apps.

Kelvin Goode/Claims Hero: “I think parents are realizing that they can fight back, right? I think that we make it easy for them to fight back.”

Goode hopes that by helping parents fight back, the end result will be a safer online experience for all children.

Heather Walker, 7News.

For More Information:
ClaimsHero

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Camille Harrison, Frederick Climpson’s mother: “We’ve told you all about his condition. Ma’am, he’s been traveling 42 miles for the last two months, OK?”

A mom is fed up with a Miami-Dade County Transportation service after things went sour when her paralyzed son needed a ride.

Camille Harrison: “It built up to a point where I was like, ‘OK, I’m done,’ because I’m frustrated.”

Camille Harrison is doing all she can to get her son Frederick back to the energetic teenager he once was. Back in September, a helmet-to-helmet hit at a Homestead Senior High School football game left him severely injured.

Frederick now needs a wheelchair. He relies on Miami-Dade County’s Special Transportation Service, or STS, to get him to his weekly physical therapy appointments.

The service, funded by tax dollars, allows county residents with disabilities to ride for $3.

Camille Harrison: “It’s a service that gets my son back and forth to his doctor’s appointments or anywhere he needs to go, if he needs to run errands or anything.

The ride to rehab is more than 40 miles from Frederick’s Florida City home.

Because of his spinal injury, he has to recline his chair throughout the day to keep his blood flowing, which means he has to ride in the front of the van to have enough space.

Camille Harrison: “The dispatcher told us that if we want those type of accommodations for him, that we have to let them know ahead of time.”

The family says they did call the county ahead of time. But things got heated on Feb. 6 when a driver put Frederick in the back.

Camille Harrison: “I said, ‘No, no, he don’t go to the back. I had made special accommodations for him in his notes.’ He called dispatch, and then he told me, ‘Oh, they’re going to send somebody else.’ I said, ‘No, if they send somebody else, he won’t make it in time to his appointment.'”

Camille recorded as her son was forced off the van.

Camille Harrison: “‘Get off, get off, ma’am. Get off.’ I said, ‘No, I’m not going anywhere. Call the police,’ and they was like, ‘If police dispatch you, you can lose – you can lose the service.'”

Frederick missed his appointment that day, and for the next three days, the van didn’t come to pick him up.

The Miami-Dade Transit website says it is responsible for “resolving riders’ concerns.”

But Camille says, after several calls to the county, nothing has been done.

Camille Harrison: “They need to retrain their workers. They need to teach them compassion.”

Frederick is now using a new transportation service paid through his insurance. But Camille hopes the county addresses problems like these because the transportation service is vital for so many.

Camille Harrison: “My son, he was like, ‘This how I’m going to be treated?’ Like, he already had a traumatic injury.”

Frederick has a long road ahead of him. He certainly didn’t need this transportation trouble.

Robbin Simmons, 7News.

The county told 7 Investigates that it does not have a record of Frederick’s family reaching out about his accommodation prior to the incident. They are reviewing what happened and say they will try to accommodate all reasonable requests from riders.

The county released the following statement to 7News:

We are aware of the incident involving Frederick Climpson and his mother on February 6, 2024, after requesting STS transportation services. We take all reports of service-related issues seriously and are committed to ensuring the safety and accessibility of our transportation services for all passengers, including those with special needs. 

Upon review of the incident, it has been determined that Frederick’s mother, the Primary Care Attendant (PCA), contacted the DTPW Paratransit call center on the day of the incident. Upon arrival of the STS vehicle at her home, Frederick’s mother expressed concerns regarding the seating arrangement for Frederick. According to her, he requires unique transportation accommodations due to his condition. Our staff provided guidance regarding the process for requesting reasonable accommodations and asked her to contact the DTPW ADA officer for further assistance.

Unfortunately, during this interaction, there was some misunderstanding, and the situation escalated, leading to delays in service for other STS clients. We understand that passengers may sometimes require accommodations beyond our standard procedure, and while we strive to accommodate all reasonable requests, there are instances where requests fall outside what is permissible and can inadvertently impact our riders. 

We encourage passengers who require special accommodations to become familiar with the County’s STS guidelines and policies and to proactively communicate their needs to our call center, allowing us to better assist them. Additionally, DTPW is committed to working closely with our service contractor to continue providing the highest level of service and customer experience.

We understand the frustration Frederick Climpson and his mother experienced and we regret any inconvenience caused. We remain dedicated to providing safe, reliable, and inclusive transportation services to all residents of Miami-Dade County. We will ensure that our team reviews this incident carefully to identify any areas for improvement and to prevent similar situations in the future.

Calvin Sykes
Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Sgt. Jahmaar Williams/2019: “You miss out on the first step, first words, very first moments of everything.”

This was staff sergeant Jahmaar Williams in 2019, holding his son before being deployed overseas.

Sgt. Jahmaar Williams/2019: “Not being there when he cries, not being there when he’s hungry, just the simple stuff.”

Five years later, the 32-year-old is now being cared for by his mother, Eleska Moore.

Eleska Moore/mother: “He’s not able to walk. He’s not able to talk. He’s not able to go to the bathroom. He’s not able to bathe himself. I have to brush his teeth. My son is 6’1. So can you imagine having a newborn baby that’s 6’1? That’s how it’s like.”

Eleska spoke with us from her home near Houston, where she brought Jahmaar to live.

Eleska Moore: “For me and my family, it has been a nightmare that you’re just not able to wake up from.”

Last year, on March 4, Jahmaar was trying to walk across Pembroke Road in Miramar, when he was hit, the driver took off.

Days later, his family pleaded for help from the public.

Eleska Moore/March 2023: “I’m asking any of you that know anything just to come forward.”

Jahmaar, a 12-year member of the Army National Guard was in a coma and suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Eleska Moore/March 2023: “My son is full of life and to see him not be able to move, it’s extremely hard.”

Heather Walker: “As the agonizing anniversary approaches, Eleska says Jahmaar served his country but she feels he is being forgotten at a time that he needs support the most.”

Eleska Moore: “The first week in January, I received a knock on the door, which was a certified letter from the National Guard saying that they wanted to discharge my son.”

The letter says the reason for the “honorable discharge” was his “failure to meet medical retention standards”.

Eleska Moore: “This was no fault of my son, that he’s not fit for duty. Someone hit him.”

Eleska says a discharge would mean her Jahmaar would lose certain benefits like his military insurance.

Coverage that helps pay for a mountain of medication and special nutrition that Jahmaar receives through a feeding tube.

Eleska Moore: “If he loses his insurance, I’m going to have to pay $1,500 a month for his food.”

Eleska also got bad news from the Florida Attorney General’s Office. This letter declares Jahmaar ineligible for victim’s compensation because his “conduct contributed” to his injuries. The crash report says he “failed to yield.”

Eleska Moore: “My son was the victim. He was not the problem, he was the victim.”

Seven months after the crash, police arrested Tremaine Herbert accused of hitting Jahmaar and taking off.

Tremaine Herbert/October 2023: “No comment.”

7news Reporter: “OK, nothing to his mom?”

Herbert is charged with driving on a suspended license without insurance.

Eleska Moore: “He’s out. He gets to talk. He gets to walk.”

Jahmaar’s son, Israel, is now five years old.

Eleska Moore: “And his son is still like, ‘When is my dad going to be able to talk?’ What do you tell a five year old?”

Eleska understands that Jahmaar will eventually need to be discharged from the guard, but she’s asking the military to review his case so that he can keep as many benefits as possible.

Eleska Moore: “Jahmaar was proud to be in the National Guard. He loved being in the military.”

As far as what the future holds for his recovery.

Eleska Moore: “I’m believing God to do a miracle in my son’s life. I have to believe that. Jahmaar had a smile that lit up the world. Coming up on a year, I have not seen my son smile.”

For now, she continues to keep the faith that she will one day see her son smile again.

After we contacted the Florida Attorney General’s office, they told us they would reach out to Jahmaar’s mom about him being denied victim compensation.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Man on video: “You [expletive] better stop playing with me.”

This is the video that turned a fun night out with friends into a nightmare.

Shino Aguilera: “It’s definitely scary when the person on the video says, ‘Stop playing with me,’ and it shows an automatic weapon and loading it. Yeah, I got scared.”

Shino Aguilera was at an Art Basel event when his cellphone was stolen. He got a new phone and shut down the old one, which allowed him to keep his phone number.

But as soon as his new phone was activated, the messages from the thief started. Videos and text messages.

Shino Aguilera: “‘I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill your mother. I know where you live. You live in Miami.'”

Another text said his “whole family will get slaughtered” and even threatened to “beat and rape” him.

Shino Aguilera: “It’s more now than losing your phone. It’s bullying, it’s threatening, it’s feeling unsafe.”

The crooks wanted the stolen phone unlocked. They sent messages to Shino telling him how to do it. They even texted him a message to pull at his heartstrings.

Shino Aguilera: “I got a message like, ‘Oh, I bought this in a secondhand store for my daughter, and now we can’t open it because it’s attached to your Cloud or whatever, please.’ Begging me and make me feel sorry.”

And Shino isn’t alone.

Other victims sent 7 Investigates messages they received after their phones were stolen. They were the exact same messages Shino got, even though their phones were stolen at different locations.

Officer Mike Vega, Miami Police Department: “Thank you for bringing it to our attention.”

7 Investigates reached out to Miami PD. The department tells us that we were the first to inform them of these threats, telling us that the fact that everyone received the same messages is a good indicator that, more than likely, these threats are false.

Officer Mike Vega: “So, most of these are fake messages. They’re trying to get you to get to the number, to get the information that they’re looking for. Maybe it’s a bank account, maybe it’s just to get access to a phone that they had already stolen from you. So it’s important that you do not give them any information.”

Police say, if you get one of these threats, screenshot or screen record the message and report it to police. After you document the threats, block the number.

Shino hopes telling his story will help the next person who finds themselves on the receiving end of these terrorizing texts.

Shino Aguilera: “You lose more than just a phone. This – a lot of these things that can affect your life.”

And he hopes the cellphone companies can come up with a way to make sure thieves can’t get your information from a stolen phone.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Yorkies are one of the most popular small dog breeds. They’re known for being loyal and loving companions of their owners.

Alexandra Du Pont: “I miss him every day. I cry every day.”

Alexandra is heartbroken because she doesn’t even have a picture of her Yorkie, Bello. She got him a few years ago when her husband was dying.

Alexandra Du Pont: “My husband died of cancer. He died of esophagus cancer and I was devastated. Doctors literally prescribed me a dog like this.”

The two of them have been living on a boat in Key Biscayne. But in November, Miami Marine Patrol Officers came to the boat and said it wasn’t properly registered. When she couldn’t provide proof of registration, she was arrested, and officers tried to take her dog away from her.

Alexandra Du Pont: “I wouldn’t give the dog, but they put handcuffs on me. I was screaming ‘you cannot take my dog, this is not just a dog. This is my therapy dog. They just walked away with the dog!”

Alexandra was arrested and taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Officers took Bello to Miami Dade Animal Services. After spending 12 days in jail, Alexandra was released and went to get her dog. But Bello was gone.

Heather Walker: “Where is the dog now?”

Gabriella Dominguez/Miami Dade Animal Services: “The dog was put up for adoption and it was successfully adopted about two days after the adoption hold was up.”

According to county policy, when someone is arrested, their dog is held for three business days. If no one comes to pick them up, they are put up for adoption. Bello did have a microchip but it wasn’t registered.

Gabriella Dominguez/Miami Dade Animal Services: “So having a microchip that’s not registered is like not having a microchip at all. This person didn’t have anybody to refer to or to have come by and pick up the dog.”

Animal Services says it tried to convince the adopter to return the dog and so did Alexandra.

Alexandra Du Pont: “She refused everything. She hung up on me.”

Alexandra even offered to buy a similar dog in exchange for Bello but was again told no.

“I’m miserable without him, I really am, I really am.”

Still she remains hopeful that the new owner will have a change of heart and give her Bello back.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

This is the Marian Sanchez Cuevas who people know and love.

Gabriel Varona, friend: “The person who would bring in the energy the second she came storming through that door was her.”

An energetic, athletic, outgoing 26-year-old, who graduated from Florida International University in 2022 with a master’s degree in finance.

Sahily Cuevas, mother: “Happy, she always was happy. The daughter that everybody wants to have.”

We spoke to Marian’s parents, Sahily and Eric, outside Jackson Memorial Hospital. It’s where they have spent countless hours at their daughter’s bedside for the past four months.

Eric Sanchez, father (translation): “Destroyed. I don’t have words to describe it.”

Sahily Cuevas: “The last four months, for us and the family, like, destructive. We don’t have life. Our life finished on September 24th.”

September 24th, 2023.

911 Caller: “A motorcyclist and his passenger just never made the turn, and just kept going straight, and they have slammed into the wall. They are both unconscious.”

Marian was the passenger.

Gwen Grayson, neighbor: “The motorcycle, you can see where it hit the tree there. The motorcycle went straight through these two signs.”

According to the crash report, a witness described the driver going “at a high rate of speed,” running a stop sign before hitting a curb in this Coconut Grove neighborhood.

911 Operator: “The police and the ambulance are on the way. They’re coming as fast as they can.”

911 Caller: “Listen, you’re not seeing what I saw, and you didn’t hear what I heard. This is bad.”

And it was bad. Marian had a portion of her skull removed to relieve pressure on her brain and was put in a medically-induced coma.

She has undergone 10 surgeries. Part of her leg was amputated, and she is not able to speak.

Sahily Cuevas: “I never heard in four months the word ‘mother,’ so imagine how we’re feeling.”

Marian’s friends and family are devastated, but they’re also determined to push the Miami Police Department for answers. They say the case has not been investigated properly, starting with the fact that the driver was never given a DUI test.

Gabriel Varona: “He was never tested at all, supposedly. That makes zero sense to me.”

Police listed Nicolas Araujo as the driver of the motorcycle. He is a rookie Miami-Dade County firefighter/EMT who was not on duty at the time.

The 28-year-old was injured but recovered — seen in a fire department video shopping for Christmas presents with children. Two months earlier, on the day of the crash, he was tailgating with a group of friends before the Dolphins game. In a picture with Marian, both had drinks in their hands.

Sahily Cuevas: “We have proof that they were drinking. It’s not fair. They were drinking. We have a lot of people that were in the tailgate.”

Marian’s close friend, who asked we not show her face, was at that tailgate.

Friend: “That morning, he was drinking, as was I. I can’t really speak on how much he was drinking, but I do know for a fact he was drinking socially.”

After the game, the group was driven in a rented van to a bar in Coconut Grove. Araujo rode his motorcycle there. He gave another woman a ride first, as she recorded on her cellphone.

Woman: “Another stop sign.”

You hear her say, “Another stop sign.”

Eric Sanchez, father (translation): “They can see in the background the speed he was going at that moment. How he ran through the stops.”

Marian got on his motorcycle just minutes later, and that’s when the crash happened. She and Araujo were both taken to the Ryder Trauma Center.

The family wants to know why he was not tested for alcohol.

Sahily Cuevas: “From my point of view, they didn’t investigate. They didn’t investigate.”

Miami Police tells 7 Investigates “…there was no physical evidence at the scene that indicated the driver was impaired, and “…they did not have any probable cause to ask for, or evidence, to obtain a warrant for a blood draw.”

We asked the department what else was done to investigate the circumstances that day. After we started asking questions, Marian’s parents were notified the detective wants to meet with them.

As they wait for answers, they also wait to see if Marian will ever recover.

Sahily Cuevas: “Only God, because she has too many damage in her brain. So, only God.”

So, for now, family and friends will continue to be Marian’s voice — because she doesn’t have one.

Marian is currently at JMH’s Rehabilitation Center, where they’re working to help her regain her ability to recognize people. Meanwhile, 7 Investigates will continue to push Miami Police for answers on this case.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

When you look down this Richmond Heights street, you see manicured lawns, flowers, fence and then, there’s this.

Linda Irby/neighbor: “Man, this thing is scary. Really scary”

Linda Irby lives next door and says the lot has grown out of control. The grass is taller than her grandson.

Linda Irby: “You don’t know what’s in there.”

Some of the weeds, even taller than her house.

Linda Irby: “Might be a human in there.”

Tim Smith lives across the street. He says the overgrown property is attracting unwanted attention.

Tim Smith/neighbor: “You’ll get cars parked here all hours of the day and night.”

Tim and Linda say the lot has been like this for about four years.

Tim Smith: “To have people throwing their garbage here because nobody lives here. That’s kind of insulting.”

7 Investigates found more than a dozen code violations spanning nearly two decades. Neighbors pleaded with the county to clean up the eyesore, but neither the county nor the neighbors could find the owner.

Tim Smith: “Their only response is to bring out the little wooden stick and put a notice on it.”

Days after 7News contacted the county, the lot was cleared.

Linda Irby: “I’m glad. I appreciate y’all. Thank you very much. Y’all make the news good.”

Even though Miami-Dade County crews cleared the land, the person who owns it, is still on the hook for the code violations. We wanted to get to the bottom of this growing problem, so we did a quick search of property records.

We found multiple addresses and after a few door knocks, we found the owner.

Heather Walker: “Hi, are you Ms. Harris? Heather Walker with 7 Investigates. We’re here about your property in Richmond Heights, it was overgrown. Are you aware of this?”

Harris: “No.”

Heather Walker: “OK. Has the county contacted you at all?”

Harris: “No.”

Harris: “I’mma have it taken care of right now.”

The owner says she paid somebody to take care of the lot, but now that she knows the work hasn’t been done, she’s on it. We shared the news with Linda.

Heather Walker: “Well we found her.”

Linda Irby: “That’s good! Thank y’all very much! Haha! Very much!”

Linda says she feels safer now. She’s also relieved we were able to get to the root of the problem.

Heather walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

James Haddad, condo owner: “To your left is #20, and to your right is #21.”

Now boarded up and fenced in, it’s a building James Haddad cherished for 21 years of his life.

James Haddad: “There’s a lot of memories here. I raised my 23-year-old kid here.”

He owns two units at the Villa Bianca Condominium in Coral Springs. But back in 2021, he and other residents were forced to pick up and leave.

James Haddad: “The city came in, and they said, ‘You didn’t fix the roof, we gave you two years, therefore we’re kicking everybody out.'”

Since then, Haddad has been moving from place to place and forced to spend some nights in his car.

James Haddad: “I wouldn’t call myself homeless, but I would say I was pretty close to it. It’s like a nightmare.”

The building’s owners did try to repair the roof.

James Haddad: “We had a plan. The roofing company wanted 10% just to get started. Everybody gave me checks but the one person.”

They attempted to get a loan for the total cost of the roof, but couldn’t, and that was the last straw for city officials.

James Haddad: “The city is talking demolition and has voted unanimously to demolish the building.”

Haddad and the other owners hoped they could recoup some of their investments by selling the building before it was torn down.

James Haddad: “‘We demolish it, and you walk out with nothing.’ That’s 20 years of payments I made.”

So they hired realtor Holly Iannucci. She found buyers who were interested but hit a wall with the city.

Holly Iannucci: “A buyer can’t close on a property that’s going to be demolished. The city has been unresponsive and just continues to say that we’ve already passed the appeal deadline, and there’s nothing that they can do.”

7 Investigates reached out to the city. They tell us they gave the building three extensions through the Unsafe Structures Board, and since the condo failed to make the changes within the time frame , the city says it is moving forward with tearing down the building.

Still, the owners are hoping for a last-minute resolution.

Holly Iannucci: “These are hardworking, middle class Americans. I would just ask that the City of Coral Springs have compassion for the owners and just give us a limited window to stop the demolition and close. We only need about two weeks. That’s all we’re asking for.”

James is not sure how he will support himself if the building is demolished. But Holly says she’s not done fighting.

Heather Walker 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

7’s Heather Walker investigates.

Life can be difficult for a person living with autism. But Tricia Anderson says things have gotten worse for her son, Melvin.

Tricia Anderson: “My son, he’s 31. He has autism, so he’s thinking more like an 11 or 12 year old.”

Melvin works as a waiter.

Tricia helped him get a money network prepaid debit card so he could deposit his paycheck. She thought it would be safer than him carrying cash, but it turned out it was not.

Tricia Anderson: “I was angry. You have to do so much for the money you work for. It’s not given, he worked for that!”

Melvin’s card got hacked. Police believe it was cloned when he ran it through a card reader.

Unfortunately, Tricia didn’t realize what had happened until the money was gone.

Tricia Anderson: “He was trying to use the card to purchase gas one day and it said declined. I just could not believe that someone would actually charge almost $1,600 dollars!”

From May until September, there were 81 transactions on Melvin’s account totaling $1,533 dollars.

Most were for public storage facilities, Lyft rides and subscription websites. Tricia disputed the charges with money network.

Tricia Anderson: “They said give it two weeks and I called back and I was told, ‘Oh, it was denied.'”

She was told too much time had passed since the charges first began.

Tricia Anderson: “The manager told me that if I would have notified them within 48 hours, they could guarantee they could get the money back. But now there’s no guarantee.”

Money Network has a policy posted online that says users must contact the company within 60 days after discovering a problem, not 48 hours after it happens.

Tricia Anderson: “And I just keep getting the runaround over and over, and over from September until now. I’m still getting the runaround now.”

7 Investigates contacted Money Network’s parent company, Fiserv, Inc.

A representative told us in December he would look into the case. After waiting weeks for a response, Money Network tells 7 Investigates “We have reviewed this case and the disputed charges will be credited to the cardholder’s account.”

Tricia Anderson: “Now, that money really came in handy, because his car needs fixed and it’s going towards his car.”

Tricia now plans on keeping a closer eye over her son’s account as well as teaching him to keep his money safe.

Tricia Anderson: “Constantly check your card, and what I do now, is lock the card, until I’m ready to use it!”

She hopes this will be an important lesson learned for not just Melvin, but for herself as well.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

The inmate has been here at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade for nearly two years. She should not have intimate contact with any man, but right now, she is now three months pregnant.

Having a relative behind bars is never easy. Crystal Bareto’s sister, Daisy Link, is an inmate at TGK.

Daisy recently called with disturbing news.

Crystal Bareto, Daisy’s sister: “She called us and told us that she had been sexually assaulted and that she was three months pregnant.”

The 28-year-old is locked on a charge of second-degree murder. She has been held at TGK with no bond since the summer of 2022.

Crystal Bareto, Daisy’s sister: “With all the things that are happening in there, we’re really, really scared for her life.”

Crystal filed a complaint with Miami-Dade Corrections. She says she was told there would be an investigation and not to reach out to the media.

Crystal Bareto, Daisy’s sister: “They are too worried about us going to the media, rather than trying to figure out how this happened to my sister, trying to protect her and take care of her.”

In a statement to 7 Investigates, Miami-Dade Corrections spokesperson Juan Diasgranados writes, “The inmate’s pregnancy was confirmed.”

However, Diasgranados writes, “There is no evidence of sexual battery on the inmate and the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy are under investigation.”

Crystal Bareto, Daisy’s sister: “She ended up pregnant under their watch. This should never happen. This is – this is horrifying.”

A source tells 7 Investigates that Daisy told jail investigators she impregnated herself with sperm passed to her from a male inmate.

But the family says Daisy told them she was ordered by guards to say that, which is why the family is asking the jail to find the father.

Crystal Bareto, Daisy’s sister: “Like, what next is gonna happen? We’re just really scared.”

Miami-Dade Corrections confirms that Daisy was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital to be checked out but was not given a rape kit.

Now the big question remains: how exactly did Daisy get pregnant behind bars?

Crystal Bareto, Daisy’s sister: “I feel like TGK needs to be investigated. This is absurd. This should not happen in a jail.”

But somehow it did, and once the baby is born, Daisy’s family is hoping they are granted custody.

The family said they have spoken with an investigator with Miami-Dade Corrections, and they are hoping to get some answers soon.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

7’s Karen Hensel investigates.

Bobby Hollis says his son has always taken the bus to school. But this year, he was told he couldn’t.

Bobby Hollis/parent: “I can look out of my door, see the kids all standing here to get on the bus. And then my son is supposed to walk past them all and keep going to school.”

Bobby didn’t want us to share his son’s name but he did explain his problem.

Bobby Hollis: “My son’s been going to Margate Middle School for the last three years. He was riding the bus the first couple of years.”

But when Bobby tried registering him for bus service for this school year, he was denied.

Bobby Hollis: “Due to the fact that we’re 1.95 miles away from the school, they said, ‘No, you don’t live far enough.'”

The district says because Bobby’s house is less than 2 miles from Margate Middle School, it makes his son ineligible to ride the bus.

But Bobby says the distance was never an issue before because his son rode the bus for the past two years. He adds if his house is too close, then so is the bus stop.

Bobby Hollis: “I explained to them we live farther than the bus.”

The bus stop is at Winfield Park. It’s 1.9 miles north of Margate Middle School.

Bobby’s house is 300 feet north of the bus stop. That means, his son actually has to walk past the bus stop and nearly two miles to get to school.

Bobby Hollis: “Transportation even told me that that yeah, he would have to walk from our house past the bus stop and to the school. That’s what they told me.”

Broward County Public Schools tells 7 Investigates “To be eligible for school bus transportation, a student’s residence must be two miles or more in walking distance from the school he or she attends. The location of the bus stop is not a factor in determining individual rider eligibility.”

Bobby Hollis: “Actually, next coming year, there’s going to be other kids in this neighborhood that live across the street or beside me or in either direction, and no, they’re not going to be allowed to ride the bus, too.”

Parents whose children have to walk to school can apply in October for their students to take the bus if there are any empty seats.

Bobby says he did that, but was still denied.

Bobby Hollis: “They said they didn’t have enough seats.”

But when 7 Investigates asked a spokesperson for Broward County Public Schools, we were told “At this time, there are four open seats…” available.

Not long after, Bobby got some good news.

Bobby Hollis: “There was a bus pass there. Now he has a bus pass.”

Just in time for Bobby’s son to finish middle school.

He’ll head to high school in the fall, and his dad is hoping he won’t have to fight another “school bus battle” next year.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

What a difference a year makes.

Last December, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested a month after the cryptocurrency exchange he founded collapsed in stunning fashion.

Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York: “This is one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.”

Last month, Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven counts of conspiracy and wire fraud. A federal jury found he stole billions of dollars from customers, investors and lenders.

Investors like Alex Chernyavsky.

Alex Chernyavsky, lost money in FTX collapse: “It looks like it was a big fraud.”

The engineer, who is an executive at a manufacturing company in Hollywood, put a lot of money onto the exchange last year.

Alex Chernyavsky: “A hundred and fifty, yeah, $150,000.”

A hundred and fifty-thousand dollars, lost.

Alex said it was his first time trading in digital currency, but he trusted FTX, in part because of its celebrity endorsements.

For a short time, even the home of the Miami Heat was called FTX Arena, before the company’s name became synonymous with fraud.

But Alex does not feel sorry for himself.

Alex Chernyavsky: “There’s no anger; it’s more like frustration. Nobody put a pistol on my head. I did it; it was my decision.”

Alex is not alone. Americans have lost a lot of money in a wide variety of crypto crimes.

Check out these numbers: Cryptocurrency investment fraud complaints went from $907 million in losses in 2021 to $2.57 billion in 2022.

And following the money is not easy.

Brooke Watson, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Florida: “It’s just harder to trace, because it’s gone through multiple different exchanges.”

Federal prosecutors Brooke Watson and Ali Comolli investigate crypto crimes.

Ali Comolli, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Florida: “It brings us into some of the darkest parts of the internet. It brings us to other countries and sometimes places where records are hard to obtain.”

And it brings us to some pretty shady characters. Gal Vallerius, dubbed the Oxymonster, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for running a crypto-fueled, dark web marketplace for drugs.

Ali Comolli: “He came to the United States in order to participate in a beard growing competition, and while he was here, he was ultimately charged here in the Southern District of Florida.”

The FBI is still looking for Ruja Ignatova, known as the Cryptoqueen. She is accused of selling a bogus crypto coin that defrauded investors out of billions.

Ali Comolli: “They certainly take advantage of the fact that this is new, and people think it’s exciting.”

And crypto trading can be exciting. But it can also be devastating for those who aren’t careful.

Brooke Watson: “When it comes to a coin you’ve never heard of before, that’s where I think people really get taken advantage of and really need to be careful, do their homework.”

The age group most targeted by crypto scammers is 30- to 49-year-olds.

And social media is where new victims are hunted.

Brooke Watson: “Any of these, like online — Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook — if people are soliciting you to invest in their cryptocurrency or their exchange on those platforms, I would pause.”

As for Alex, he and other FTX investors are suing in hopes of getting their money back.

Alex Chernyavsky: “I still hope I can recover something. I have some kind of hope.”

Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried faces as much as 110 years in prison when he is sentenced in March.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

References:

• What is cryptocurrency?
  The FBI warns of a spike in cryptocurrency investment schemes
• FBI guidance for cryptocurrency scam victims
• Increase in companies falsely claiming an ability to recover funds lost in cryptocurrency investment scams
• To file a complaint, visit www.Ic3.gov.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

The cost of car insurance in our state is sky-high. But what’s “driving” the rise in rates?

7’s Karen Hensel investigates.

At home and on the road, it’s not only expensive to live in South Florida but also expensive to drive here.

Mark Friedlander/Insurance Information Institute: “While we’re seeing spikes in auto insurance everywhere, Florida is unfortunately worse than many other states.”

Actually the worst, according to the Insurance Information Institute, a research organization that represents the industry.

Mark Friedlander says Florida drivers are now paying an average premium of $3,183 per year. That’s 58% higher than the national average of $2,014.

Mark Friedlander: “Florida all of a sudden didn’t get bad. It’s always been bad. Now, it might be a little worse.”

Maria Garcia/driver: “No tickets, no nothing and it’s still going up. I would say like $40 more.”

Maria Garcia says that monthly $40 increase in her car insurance has her considering giving up driving altogether.

Maria Garcia: “Right now, I think the cost of living sucks big time. It’s not like it used to be. We struggled a little bit but now you struggle more.”

A “vehicle insurance nightmare” is how one small business owner described it in an email to 7Investigates.

He wrote that the premium for his truck and trailer went from $7,800 a year to almost $14,000 despite a “perfect driving record.”

So why are prices going up?

Mark Friedlander: “You can’t just point to one factor here in Florida.”

Things like insurance fraud, vehicle thefts and flooded out cars, pave the road for higher rates. But that is just the start of it.

Mark Friedlander: “More accident severity, more expensive repairs.”

Yet another reason, according to a Washington Post article last month, is “Florida’s ‘unscrupulous’ auto glass shops” that charge way too much to replace damaged windshields.

If insurers refuse to pay these inflated costs, the claims can go to court.

There were only 591 glass and windshield lawsuits filed in 2011.

This year, Florida hit a record with more than 46,000 lawsuits.

Mark Friedlander: “We all pay for that.”

Friedlander says rates can vary by hundreds of dollars, so shop around.

Other ways to save include safe driver discounts and bundling multiple policies.

Rob Kornahrens says his roofing company found a way to save on its 270 vehicles.

Rob Kornahrens/owner, Advanced Roofing: “Speaking to our insurance company, what else can we do? So we were one of the pioneers of putting cameras in our vehicles.”

Kornahrens says the cameras help deter fraudulent accident claims by other drivers. And while their rates have only gone up about 3% over five years, some companies are paying a lot more.

Rob Kornahrens: “I’m hearing the thing across the board with contractors that their auto insurance are going up in that range from 15 to 30% yearly.”

But whether the policy is commercial or personal, the high price of car insurance is driving people mad.

John Born/driver: “I mean, it sucks, but it is what it is. I mean, it’s the cheapest rate I could get.”

And piling higher priced car insurance, on top of already out-of-control living expenses, may be the breaking point for some.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Tonight, 7 Investigates’ Karen Hensel, takes us along with the team trying to help those with nowhere else to go.

Miami-Dade Officer: “We’re here to do the operation tonight.”

These Miami-Dade Police officers are based at Miami International Airport.

The mission is not about arrests but about compassion.

Miami-Dade Officer: “We’re going over to the terminal first.”

We can’t show you some of their faces because they also work undercover.

On this night, they are teaming up with counselors Laquinta Walker and Rejine Henry from the Homeless Trust.

Laquinta Walker: “So they normally hide like in parts like that, they’ll sleep.”

The group is trying to help those living inside and outside the airport get into shelters.

Laquinta Walker: “Hello, how are you? Do you need any type of assistance tonight? Are you homeless?”

The man says he recently lost his home.

Rejine Henry/Homeless Trust: “He’s been out here for like 20 something days.”

Laquinta Walker: “Oh my God. OK, so ask him does it matter where we place him, what shelter?”

Originally from the Dominican Republic, he did not know a shelter was even an option.

Karen Hensel: “And why did he choose the airport?”

Laquinta Walker: “He came here because it’s a lot of police around so he knew that he would be safe.”

Still looking for work, he eagerly accepts a place to sleep.

Rejine Henry: “I’ll take you to a shelter.”

Man: “Now?”

Rejine Henry: “Si.”

Man: “OK.”

Laquinta Walker: “I realize that he doesn’t have a profile. I have to create him one.”

Karen Hensel: “And you can get him into a shelter right now?”

Laquinta Walker: “Yeah. We’re gonna do that for him right now. He just has to sign some paperwork and then we can transport him to the shelter.”

He will get one of nine beds available on this night. And that is what the program is about, getting them to a better place.

Detective Kalika Parker/Miami-Dade PD: “What we’re here to let them know is, it’s not a living space.”

The Miami-Dade Aviation Department says under county code “…It is unlawful for any person(s) to remain at the airport without a bona fide reason…”

About 30% of those offered assistance accept it. If they come back, they are issued a trespass warning.

An arrest is a last resort.

Detective Kalika Parker: “Once you build that rapport with them and let them know that we are here to help and not always here to arrest them, it becomes a little bit more easier for them to be more accepting.”

And this is not the only South Florida airport with this issue.

In November, 7 Investigates documented homeless people living inside Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Rebecca/homeless woman (in video diary): “It’s about one and there’s just a lot of people tonight.”

Teams there also work to move homeless people into shelters.

Meanwhile, back at MIA.

Laquinta Walker: “Oh, she’s sleeping. I really don’t like to wake them up.”

This older woman was sleeping on a bench outside the terminal. She declined any help saying she was just waiting for a ride.

Laquinta Walker: “She looks like a regular you can tell. She said that she will not change her mind and… ”

Karen Hensel: “You don’t believe someone is coming to pick her up?”

Laquinta Walker: “No.”

But two more do accept help.

Laquinta Walker: “How long have you been out here?”

Man: “For a year.”

Laquinta Walker: “A year?

Laquinta Walker: “Are you from Florida?”

Man: “Yeah. Will I be able to sleep over there tonight?”

Laquinta Walker: “Yeah, yeah. We’re gonna take you now.”

Karen Hensel: “People really trust you guys. Why do you think that is? Is it because you’re in civilian clothes?”

Laquinta Walker: “I think it’s because we meet them where they are. We just walk up to them, we introduce ourselves, we tell them what we’re doing and the services that we offer. And I don’t try to be intimidating.”

Laquinta will personally drive them to the shelter. But their walk together symbolizes more than just one night, it is a commitment.

Karen Hensel: “What will you do to follow-up with him?”

Laquinta Walker: “So, since I’m an outreach case manager, like he has me for life, as long as he needs me.”

A lifeline for the homeless so they can have a safe departure.from the airport.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Owning a home is supposed to be the ultimate American dream. But with collapsing ceilings and growing mold, Runae Sneed’s dream is turning into a nightmare.

Runae Sneed: “It’s kind of scary. I just – I don’t know which direction to turn in.”

Runae’s Miami home was damaged in Hurricane Irma back in 2017.

She couldn’t afford the repairs, so she signed up for a state program called Rebuild Florida.

The fund was started in 2018 after the feds gave the state $615 million to repair and rebuild properties damaged by Irma.

Runae was approved for assistance but never got any.

Runae Sneed: “I called just about every day or every other day. I called Rebuild Florida, I called the contractor, back and forth, back and forth, to no avail.”

Rebuild Florida assigned a contractor to Runae’s case. She said things seemed to be progressing at first.

Workers took measurements and pictures. But after that, nothing happened, and Runae wanted to know why.

Runae Sneed: “And they were telling me then that the city was the hold-up, then the city’s telling me that it’s the contractors.”

We searched for construction permits submitted for Runae’s home. Records show 10 applications dating back to as early as 2020.

The city of Miami tells 7 Investigates that none were ever completed.

Runae Sneed: “I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what to think.”

Only one permit application is still active. It was filed in 2022 for new construction to Runae’s home.

But the city says the actual plans weren’t submitted until nearly a year later, and the contractor still has not finished the application process.

We called Rebuild Florida and were told they would look into Runae’s case.

Despite repeated calls, we never heard back. Her contractor also never returned our calls.

Runae Sneed: “It’s just crazy right about now, because I don’t know which direction I’m going.”

All Runae can do is wait for something to happen.

Meanwhile, the damage to her home continues to grow, and she’s afraid it may not last much longer.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

We now have an update from Rebuild Florida. They say they have contacted Runae and have met with building officials to get the proper paperwork filed.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Karen Hensel has tonight’s 7 Investigates.

Maria Rivera/facing eviction: “I’m afraid that she falls, and nobody’s here.”

This is the condo Maria Rivera has called home for the past three years. It is where she lives with and cares for her elderly mother who is disabled.

Maria Rivera: “On a daily basis, I prepare her meals and leave them because she can’t go around to cook. I’m afraid she’ll burn something or burn herself.”

At 66 years old, Maria works long shifts at a dental office, and makes just enough to make sure her $2,000 rent is paid each month.

But now, she’s afraid she will lose her home.

Maria Rivera: “I received an eviction notice.”

Taped to her door in November, a notice to leave.

Maria says she’s being evicted because her landlord is in a fight with the homeowners association over assessments.

Maria Rivera: “There’s an issue with them and my landlord that started last year, because they’re billing him for almost $30,000 for that.”

Maria’s landlord is suing the association over the special assessment.

Until there’s a court ruling, the condo board says Maria has to pay her rent to them, but the landlord then moved to evict her for unpaid rent.

Maria Rivera: “They’re gonna cause me to be thrown in the street and I don’t know where we’re gonna go.”

Under Florida law, the association can require tenants to pay their rent to the board. The law also says as long as those rent payments are made, the tenant cannot be evicted.

But in Maria’s case, the association’s lawyer sent her this letter demanding she pay $1,595 to them, even though she was paying the landlord $2,000.

Salome Zikakis/real estate attorney: “If she had paid him the $400 or paid it all to the association, with a notation that any difference goes to the landlord, then she’d be OK.”

We reached out to Maria’s landlord but he never responded.

Maria said he told her if she paid his $2,000 legal fees and the remaining rent. she would not be evicted.

And then on Tuesday, Maria told us she was fired from her job after taking time to deal with this rental mess.

Maria Rivera: “Beware. This is happening. This is happening to a lot of people and this has to be stopped.”

Lawyers say if you are renting a condo, it’s a good idea to ask for a copy of their rules and bylaws.

Meantime, Maria is looking for a new job and once she gets one, will work out a payment plan with her landlord.

Karen Hensel, 7News

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Pastor Howard McCall: “What we are facing now, we really need you, Lord!”

The power of prayer before a packed house this week.

Pastor Howard McCall: “We come to stand together.”

Stand together — and fight together.

At issue: the future of the historically Black Westview Community Cemetery in Pompano Beach. Last year, this 4.5-acre portion of the property was sold to a developer who plans to build an industrial office complex on the land.

But some longtime residents have grave concerns.

Sonya Finney, resident: “We were told that back in the day, that that’s where they would bury babies and put them in a box, not in a casket. And they would bury them there.”

Ninety-one-year-old Elijah Wooten says he believes the bodies of poor people are buried there in what he calls “paupers’ graves,” unmarked, from the 1950s and ’60s.

Elijah Wooten, resident: “Bodies were being placed in there before I had finished high school. They were placed in there.”

Elijah knows the history because he is a lifelong resident, and for 20 years, he was chairman of the board overseeing the cemetery.

Elijah Wooten (speaking at Nov. 15 Pompano Beach Planning and Zoning Board meeting): “Bodies were placed there.”

He was among those who spoke out against the development at a city meeting last month.

Resident (speaking at board meeting): “I got one word to say: deny.”

The nonprofit that runs the cemetery sold part of it to the developer for $1.1 million, but before construction can begin, the city has to agree to rezone the land.

And that is at the heart of this latest battle.

Kevin Eason, resident (speaking at board meeting): “That land was set aside for burial use only, only. Now, if you purchased it, what you did — you purchased a cemetery.”

In recent years, 7 Investigates has reported on the troubles at the crumbling cemetery, filled with broken headstones and sinking burial vaults.

At the city meeting in November, an attorney for the developer said the purchase deal includes money to repair and maintain the cemetery.

And he acknowledged the controversy.

Keith Poliakoff, attorney for developer (speaking at board meeting): “We totally recognize, fully recognize, the raw emotions and the feelings of the community.”

The developer hired a company to scan for graves twice, using ground penetrating radar.

Keith Poliakoff (speaking at board meeting): “Did every inch of that property, and they found no burials were ever occurred on that property.”

Elijah Wooten disagrees — and says he even gave a sworn statement.

Elijah Wooten: “I told them dead bodies were placed there. It was there, it was there.”

Karen Hensel: “Bodies?”

Elijah Wooten: “Bodies.”

The board recommended unanimously to the city commission to deny the rezoning — a win for these residents.

But clearly, this land battle is not over.

Keith Poliakoff (speaking at board meeting): “The ownership will go back to the drawing board, if it has to, and it will say, ‘OK, fine, if we have to turn this into a waste transfer station under the code, that’s what we’ll do.’ And sometimes, you know, you better be careful what you ask for.”

A lawsuit to block the sale of the 4.5 acres in the first place failed. Now, a new lawsuit has been filed questioning who is legally in charge of this cemetery. Bottom line: the controversy may move from a cemetery back into a courtroom in 2024.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Karen Hensel has tonight’s 7 Investigates.

She shares a name with an icon; Barbara Walters.

Barbara Walters/transit activist: “I’m not a ghost.”

This Barbara Walters says she may not be known for hard-hitting interviews, but she is known for something.

Barbara Walters: “I have not owned a car in about 30 years. I’ve become a very strong advocate for public transportation. I can really say it’s my contribution to the environment.”

But changes in the Miami-Dade bus system have created a huge bump in the road for Barbara.

Barbara Walters: “I went to the bus stop and I see the sign on the bus that as of the 13th of November, no more bus service at that area.”

The county rolled out its “Better Bus Network” in November.

At least 1,200 bus stops were eliminated.

Barbara’s usual stop, which was just a few blocks away from her Kendall home, was one of them.

Now, her closest bus stop is more than a 30-minute walk, and at 79 years old, that walk every day would be impossible.

Barbara Walters: “It’s like, wait a minute, I’m going to walk 22 blocks or pay $7 to take Lyft from 97th and 88th home?”

So she turned to “Metro Connect,” the county’s on-demand ride service. It is supposed to pick you up and get you to your bus station.

But actually getting a ride, has not been easy.

Barbara Walters: “Then it says we’re currently experiencing very high volume, all our seats are filled, please try again. What the?”

So she called once.

Barbara Walters: “So, 10:12? OK.”

Twice.

Barbara Walters: “So you’re telling me, what did you say, 10:36?”

And finally, her ride showed up.

Barbara Walters: “Metro Connect cannot meet the demands.”

The goal of the Better Bus Network was to improve access and wait times for riders. But 7 Investigates found many who say it has created big problems for them.

Rhett Ennis/bus rider: “It hasn’t been a better system. It’s been worse.”

Maurice Byrd/bus rider: “I gotta get up an hour earlier now to go to work because the buses is much crowded and it ain’t too much room on the buses.”

Emily Norton: “Some stops have made it a little bit harder for me to get to work on time and stuff because they changed the bus stops.”

Miami-Dade Transit tells us they “…anticipated some confusion and frustration among riders, and it is completely understandable.”

But when we specifically asked about complaints of bus stops being too far away and Metro Connect cars not being available, they did not answer our questions.

Barbara Walters: “When you’ve got a situation where we only had one bus to depend on and they’ve taken that away from us. I think there should have been more input from the riding public.”

The county continues to meet with the community about the new system, but tells us no changes will be made until next April.

Barbara Walters says they are not done hearing from her.

Karen Hensel 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Linda Ramos is working on finally getting back to business.

Linda Ramos, SUV stolen: “I’m a pilot car driver. I drive all over the United States, guiding the transportation of multiple variety of loads, as far as a big yacht to a Boeing jet engine.”

But on Aug. 9, Linda hit a major road block.

Her Ford Explorer — equipped with expensive features like a light bar, cameras and an “oversize load” sign — was stolen from her driveway in Dania Beach.

Linda Ramos: “There goes my car. They just drove off with my car.”

The thieves in this case stole more than an SUV. They put a major dent in Linda’s livelihood.

Linda Ramos: “I got hit in the pocket hard, because I wasn’t able to get back to work until everything got settled.”

It has been a difficult year for Linda, who has battled serious health issues and cares for her elderly mother. Losing her car, too, was more than she could bear.

Linda Ramos: “I tried to stay in control of the situation because what’s done was done. Was I mad? Oh, I was fuming mad.”

“Fuming mad” is no doubt a feeling shared by many car theft victims. But even if it has not happened to you, you still pay. That’s because Florida’s auto insurance premiums are currently the highest in the country — 58% higher than the national average, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Thefts are one reason why.

Undercover detective, Miramar Police Department: “In my experience, I would say auto theft is generally trending upward.”

This Miramar detective, who we are not identifying because he works undercover, says expensive cars and trucks with a lot of extras are especially attractive to thieves.

Undercover detective: “Generally, those higher trim levels are more sought after. Why? Because the parts are more valuable and they’re more luxurious.”

As 7 Investigates has reported, cars equipped with powerful Hellcat engines have been targeted across our area.

And big trucks, with big price tags, remain a big problem.

Undercover detective: “You’re not dealing with the regular, you know, jump-in-a-car-and-go-joyriding type of thief. When it comes to higher value vehicles such as these trucks, it’s generally more organized.”

The detective has been involved with recovering around 150 vehicles, worth more than $7 million, over the last five years.

All three of these trucks were recovered in October.

Undercover detective: “I’ve dealt with cases that have had vehicles’ VIN numbers changed three times.”

And in an age of mostly keyless driving, “push to start” can quickly turn into “push to steal.”

Undercover detective: “Some of the items displayed here are electronic devices which are used to overtake the vehicle’s onboard diagnostic system.”

The detective says one key to keeping your car is to make thieves really work for it.

Undercover detective: “If you can make the process more difficult, you might just well save your car.”

One way to do that: install a second GPS tracking device.

Undercover detective: “If these criminals are going to steal your vehicle, they’re going to disable the manufacturer GPS.”

Linda did not have a tracking device on her stolen SUV. It was found abandoned two weeks later, damaged and stripped of its expensive add-ons.

Now, three months later, her new Explorer means she’s back in business.

Linda Ramos: “Oh, driving that home was emotional. I really hope next year is super busy for me, and I can recover my money quickly.”

And on Linda’s street, all signs point to more eyes on her neighborhood.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

To find out which cars have the highest theft rates, as well as more tips on how to keep your ride safe, check out the following links:

• Most stolen vehicles in 2022
• Auto theft prevention tips
• Auto theft statistics
• VIN check 

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Karen Hensel has tonight’s 7 Investigates

Welcome to Nigeria, scamming capital of the world and a place where many residents learn to rip people off just to survive.

Chris Maxwell/former Nigerian scammer: “My first year in the university was kind of tough. So I needed to make money for myself. You know, my parents really were not making enough money.”

Chris Maxwell is a former scammer who spoke to us from his home in Nigeria.

Chris Maxwell: “It’s difficult for me to get clothes for myself, to eat, you know.”

At least 65% of Nigerians live in poverty.

To make money, Chris learned to scam women who were looking for love, and he followed this 39 page guide to find his victims.

But he has since changed his life. Going from criminal to consultant for the website Social Catfish to check if profiles or products are real or fake.

Chris Maxwell: “I felt so pitiful.”

This holiday season, He’s using his expertise to warn shoppers.

Chris Maxwell: “This time of the year, it’s a very, it’s a very good time for scammers to make money.”

And there’s good reason for South Floridians to listen up. When it comes to holiday scams, Florida ranks second highest in the country. A recent survey found one in three online shoppers was scammed out of an average of $400 each.

When shopping online, be on the lookout for knockoff websites.

Chris Maxwell: “The scammer has his own website. It’s going to look like a real one. It’s going to look like Amazon. When you purchase products and you make the payment, then you’re not going to receive the product. You’re never gonna receive your package.”

When shopping online, make sure the web address of the store is spelled correctly and never pay extra once you think the item has been shipped.

Chris Maxwell: “There is shipment scams where they tell you you are expecting a shipment and you have to pay for clearance.”

So never follow an email link about shipping problems. Instead, log on to official sites like UPS, FedEx or the postal service to enter your tracking number manually to check on your packages.

Chris Maxwell: “This time of the year, you know, they do everything they can because money’s gonna go in, money’s gonna come out. Every single opportunity they’re gonna take your money.”

Chris’ biggest tip is to shop smart and not take any risks.

Chris Maxwell: “My best advice for people is this time of the year, if you’re gonna shop, make sure you buy from online shops that you know, trusted. If it’s saying the prices are too high, you can just go to the store and get everything you need by yourself.”

Chris is hoping his expertise as a reformed scammer will help Florida families have a happy holiday.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

7’s Karen Hensel investigates.

The holiday season is right around the corner. It has people like Teresa Dotson looking for ways to make some extra money.

Teresa Dotson/identity stolen: “Because at my job, I’m a server and I was like, ‘You know, let me make some extra cash.'”

Last month, she signed up to be a driver on Uber.com.

Teresa Dotson: “You put in your driver’s license and your date of birth. They had you to put in your maiden name, all that information.”

That’s as far as she got because her account was immediately locked.

Teresa Dotson: “That’s when I called support and support actually was the one who discovered that I had multiple accounts with them. I told them that I never signed up for Uber, and then they discovered that I apparently was a driver in California and also Atlanta, Georgia.”

Both driver accounts listed Teresa’s personal information.

Teresa Dotson: “It’s scary because someone is using my information.”

Teresa isn’t alone.

There are stories from across the country of people who discovered their personal information had been used by someone else to register as a rideshare driver.

Eva Velasquez/Identity Theft Resource Center: “Well, we’re hearing more about it. We’ve got cases coming into the contact center.”

Eva Velasquez is the CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center.

She says this type of identity theft is usually the result of stolen driver’s license information.

Eva Velasquez: “There are even videos, not even on the dark web, they’re on Youtube, showing people who are like, ‘Stole all this mail, here are the drivers licenses for sale,’ and unbeknownst to the person who that’s their legitimate license, they don’t even know that this is going on.”

Thieves can use those stolen details to assume a person’s identity in order to pass background checks.

Eva Velasquez: “And it’s not up to the victim to fix that process, it’s really up to the organization to fix their authentication and verification processes.”

Uber uses a company called Checkr to perform its background checks.

Last year, both were sued in a South Florida federal court.

It claimed Uber was negligent in allowing a driver to use someone’s stolen identity and it added that both companies broke the law by not notifying the victim when doing a background check.

The case was thrown out because theft couldn’t be traced back to Uber or Checkr.

Eva Velasquez: “So hard to police, and even when you do, it’s very hard to figure out who actually owns that account, who is that person committing that’s these acts.”

Uber drivers have to pass a screening process before they’re allowed to work, but Teresa says it didn’t catch the two people posing as her.

Teresa Dotson: It’s just a scary situation because I have a daughter that, you know, uses Uber and Lyft, and just the thought of her getting in the car with someone that, it’s supposed to be that person and really, truly it’s not that person, you know? So it’s scary.”

Uber tells 7 Investigates it is looking into her case and says “Uber is continuously strengthening our processes to detect and protect against fraudsters’ ever-changing schemes.”

Teresa is now looking for ways to better protect her personal information so no one else can use it to get behind the wheel.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

They thought the situation was solved, but it turned out there was an even bigger problem lurking beneath the surface.

7’s Karen Hensel investigates.

People living at this condo complex in Oakland Park say the condition of their pool has gone from bad to worse.

Lisa, condo owner: “It bothers me a lot and it makes me really scared because anybody could have lost their life here.”

When 7 investigates first visited “Azul at Kimberly Lake” over the summer, the pool had been closed a few times in the past year.

William Cipriani, condo owner: “I mean there are ducks, you know, defecating in it. There are algae growing.”

The property management company seemed to get things back in order after our story aired.

Water quality issues were corrected and inspectors allowed the pool to reopen.

Condo owner William Cipriani says it didn’t last long.

William Cipriani: “So now it’s closed again.”

William called 7 Investigates last month after discovering there was a bigger problem at the pool.

It had been lurking just below the surface for months.

William Cipriani: “And from what I’m told, anyone swimming in the pool or grabbing the ladder could have been electrocuted!”

Public records show the pool was cited by Oakland Park Code Enforcement on January 28th. Six months before our first story.

The citation says a pool pump was installed without a permit… And it created an electrical concern.

The city tells 7News, “When pool pump equipment is installed’ it ‘requires an electrical permit’ to ‘ensure the electricity powering the pump is grounded properly.'”

Although the violation was issued back in January, residents say they just recently found out about it.

William Cipriani: “The residents that I know are absolutely fed up, especially now.”

The association has been fined $24,500 dollars, and it “continues to accrue.”

We asked the association president and its management company when the pool would be repaired, and how the fine would be resolved.

The manager said, “Azul at Kimberly Lake has no comment.”

Residents pay about $350 a month in association fees.

They know they could now be on the hook for the fine, as well as the cost to repair the pool.

Lisa: “And now them having to tear up the pavers, which they did a year less than a year ago to do it again, it costs us more money.”

William Cipriani: “Now the whole thing has to be dug up because the pool pump was not grounded.”

Owners wonder if they will be assessed again to re-do the pavers. And question when the pool will finally open.

But say it’s hard to get answers when board meetings are almost impossible to attend.

William Cipriani: “They hold association meetings in the middle of the day so nobody can attend them.”

Owners say if they don’t get answers soon. They may have to file a complaint against the board.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

John Browning Jr., homeowner: “There’s a lot of memories here. Yes, there’s a lot of memories here.”

This has been home for John Browning Jr. for decades. It was a gift from one of his sons, who was a former defensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs.

John Browning Jr.: “My oldest son bought the house back in 1996. He bought this house with money that he played football and made.”

He gave it to his dad, who has worked hard his whole life — detailing cars.

Now at age 76, John is the full-time caregiver for his disabled grandson.

John Browning Jr.: “Michael is mentally challenged, and he’s got cerebral palsy.”

Both his grandson and a second son live with him.

While he was not looking to sell his home, John was enticed when he got a call from MV Realty.

John Browning Jr.: “In fact, he called me about four times before I accepted it.”

The agreement: John got $1,465 cash in exchange for the company getting exclusive rights to sell his home sometime in the next 40 years.

John Browning Jr.: “I’m in a hard spot. I needed cash. That’s money you ain’t got to pay back, you know.”

But John did not know what he was really getting into — which was MV Realty putting a lien on his home. The agreement meant he could not sell, transfer or refinance it for the next 40 years without using the company.

John Browning Jr.: “I was getting ready to go through cataract surgery, so I couldn’t read a whole bunch of that stuff that he gave me.”

Signing the 40-year deal for quick cash was only the beginning of his home heartache. He was in debt, and because of the lien from MV Realty, he could not refinance his home, so he took out a large loan from a different company.

Now, faced with no way to pay it back, his only option is to sell his home.

John Browning Jr.: “I was doing the best I could. Just made a lot of bad choices, I guess. They got me, they doped me.”

John is not alone.

The Florida Attorney General’s Office has more than 200 complaints about MV Realty PBC and is suing the company, accusing it of operating “…a complex and deceptive scheme … with the goal of swindling consumers…”

The suit says homeowners were offered between $300 and $5,000 cash as a “loan alternative,” “in exchange” for them signing “misleading and confusing” contracts.

MV Realty says it operates in 33 states. Florida is now one of seven states taking action against the company.

John Browning Jr.: “They done trapped me into a whole bunch of stuff here that I didn’t even realize I was in, so that’s when I realized I was in trouble.”

John turned to a real estate broker for help to get out of the deal.

Margend Palacios, real estate broker: “He had to pay back, to be released, $13,965 penalty in exchange for a loan of $1,460. At the end of the day, they don’t deserve that money. It’s swindling, it was dishonest, it was something that has put this family in a situation where they didn’t need to be.”

John Browning Jr.: “I just feel real bad about the whole situation, you know, since I’m the one who got put into this for bad decisions that I made.”

On two days we stopped by the MV Realty office in Boca Raton, it was empty. We reached out to the company and its attorney and are still waiting to hear back.

In court filings, MV Realty denies wrongdoing and says what they have been doing is legal.

And, while a judge denied their attempt to dismiss Florida’s lawsuit, in September, MV Realty filed for bankruptcy protection.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

Consumers with complaints about MV Realty can contact the Florida Attorney General’s Office: 
1(866) 9NO-SCAM 
MyFloridaLegal.com

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Nancy flew into South Florida for the same reason many people do.

Nancy Turner: “We wanted to have somewhere to come in the wintertime when it gets cold.”

Nancy wanted to buy a home and found this listing for beautiful townhouses in Davie.

Nancy Turner: “I like that it was a new build and it had square footage with the pool on the back.”

Nancy contacted the company, Omni Development and Consulting services in Fort Lauderdale, and signed a contract in 2022 to buy two units; one for her and one for her daughter.

Nancy Turner: $320,000 for the down payment

In 2021, Alexander Alonso saw that Omni Development was advertising townhouses on this property in Miramar.

Alexander Alonso: “Oh, they were modern looking. Three story townhomes, family oriented.”

Alexander put down $64,000 and started waiting.

Alexander Alonso: “They always put me off, put me off, always excuses.”

Nancy was also waiting.

On the site of the proposed Davie development, is a nice sign about the project.

The man who says he is the president of the company, Tyler Jones, even sent Nancy a picture of himself and his so called project manager at the Davie groundbreaking. But as you can see, no shovels have touched the place.

So Nancy went to meet Jones.

Nancy Turner: “And he just kept making up excuses.”

Nancy asked for her $320,000 back and couldn’t get it. Alexander tried to get his $64,000 in life savings back and couldn’t get it.

Alexander Alonso: “They don’t respond or anything anymore. Not to emails, Not to texts, nothing.”

They both contacted local police departments and were told most cases like these are not crimes. They’re civil matters and you have to sue the developer.

Nancy Turner: “Police told us that is normal, we should give them time”

But Nancy wasn’t the only person contacting Davie police about Omni Development. Six more people told detectives they put down large deposits to buy a town house on this property.

Police went to work and what was a civil case, may now be a criminal case.

Peter Patton: “The fact that there have been such a great amount of time with no work being done whatsoever. The town has no permits pulled or anything like that. So that’s what brought it to a level of suspicion high enough for us to conduct an investigation into it.”

And as we started digging, we found red flags everywhere.

The Davie address on the ad where the houses would be built, doesn’t exist.

Omni Development doesn’t own the property after a $250,000 check they wrote to finalize the purchase, bounced.

The man who called himself Tyler Jones when he met Nancy, is actually Dennis Wendall Jones, who was recently arrested for domestic violence. Who is currently on ten years probation for grand theft after taking a persons money.

He is also on probation for 10 years after pleading no contest to several charges such as money laundering and organized fraud.

Alexander Alonso: “Oh, my gosh. So his chances of getting paid are going to be slim.”

We spoke to Jones, who he said he would return Nancy’s money in early October. He didn’t. After that, he wouldn’t return our calls.

We spoke to the man, Woodward Warren, who is listed as the manager for Omni Development Holdings.

He told us Omni has at least 10 projects they are planning. When we started asking more questions, he said, ‘Call my attorney,’ but he couldn’t remember his attorney’s name.

Nancy Turner: “Horrified. Just horrified. Upset.”

We also found three more cases of people in Fort Lauderdale who paid the Omni Development Group to build a house and didn’t get it.

Eleven people we have now discovered. Many have given up hope, but not the Davie Police.

Peter Patton: “See if there’s any way to get the money back and then see what criminal charges will apply in the future.”

And then Tuesday morning, we were in court to see Jones, wearing an Omni shirt, appear on an unrelated case.

He was surprised to find out Davie Police had issued an arrest warrant for him.

Jones was handcuffed and taken to jail, and charged with grand theft of over $100,000, money laundering and violation of probation.

Also, the the sign advertising the Omni Project in Davie has been cut down, destroyed, just like Nancy’s dreams.”

Nancy Turner: “Don’t make me cry ’cause I’ve been trying not to. But yes, but the thing is devastating.”

If convicted, Jones faces 30 years in prison.

And the people like Nancy and Alexander, who lost their lives savings, are left to hope police and the courts can help recover some of their money.

I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

If you given money to Omni Development and you feel like you’re a victim, call the Davie Economic Crimes Division at 954-693-8200.

This condo building’s surveillance video starts with a Miami Beach Code Compliance officer getting out of his car. Notice these two recycling bins, with their lids closed, in the alley next to the Nautilus Towers condominium.

But watch what happens next. The officer opens one of the bins and arranges boxes inside so the lid no longer closes. He then opens it again, stacks even more boxes and raises the lid even higher before walking back to his car.

Berta Flynn, resident: “Oh, ahh, interesting.”

We showed the video to Berta Flynn, a unit owner at Nautilus.

Karen Hensel: “Does it surprise you that a code enforcement officer would do that?”

Berta Flynn: “It does. Unfortunately, it happens.”

And unfortunately for the Code Compliance officer, a surveillance camera on the building captured him rearranging the recycling bin clear as day.

But what is not clear is the motivation behind his bizarre behavior.

Body camera videos and records obtained by 7 Investigates provide a more complete picture of what happened on that November day last year.

Code Compliance officer (in bodycam video): “Now let’s go ahead and take a picture of that.”

Turns out, the officer seen taking a picture of the overflowing container was training a new officer on how to identify and cite violators.

Trainee (in bodycam video): “Doing a sanitation detail on 41st Street. Garbage can overflow.”

But it didn’t end there. The pair came back later in the day and slapped a trash violation notice on the building. It gave the condo 24 hours to fix the manufactured problem or face a $300 fine.

When the property management company reviewed its own surveillance video, it alerted the city. Miami Beach Police conducted an internal affairs investigation and questioned the code officer.

Internal affairs investigator: “Now, you guys posted it. Why did you leave it posted on the building? Can you explain?”

Code compliance officer: “Um, that was poor judgment on my part. Um, you know, I’m very sorry about that.”

The employee, with six and a half years’ experience, told investigators he was teaching the trainee the basics of sanitation details.

Code compliance officer: “So that she has a full and complete understanding and she receives some quality training.”

But he did not tell the condo building, or his supervisors, that this was all just an exercise.

And although he said his intention was to help the trainee, he admitted…

Code compliance officer: “These actions were unorthodox and uncommon, possibly even wrong. I will not engage in this type of activity again, and I’m very sorry.”

As for discipline, the officer got a one-day suspension.

The city wrote: “Your actions have violated our organization’s policies and procedures and compromised the integrity of our operations.”

Karen Hensel: “The code enforcement officer ended up saying, ‘Well, I was doing training.'”

Berta Flynn: “Ohh, what a nice excuse.”

Meanwhile, our camera captured open trash and recycling bins all over Miami Beach — which raises the question: why stage one in the first place?

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

7 Investigates was there for the reunion.

Here’s Karen Hensel.

Timothy Sweat/Bear’s owner: “My baby bear. I know. I miss you so much. Oh my goodness. Daddy’s here.”

Timothy Sweat has spent the last 91 days fighting for this moment.

Timothy Sweat: “My little baby boy. My little baby boy.”

On July 26, someone tried to take his dog Bear while they were on a walk in Dania Beach. Timothy fought the person off but he was severely beaten and rushed to the hospital Police took Bear to animal care for safe keeping but the shelter did not keep the Yorki-poo safe for Timothy.

Timothy Sweat: “The second I got out of the hospital, still bleeding, still had the tags on me, I got to the animal shelter and they just politely walked out and said, ‘He’s gone and we gave him away.'”

Through 7 Investigates, Timothy made a public plea to the woman who adopted Bear, Sharon Barnett

But Barnett refused to take his calls and our calls. She wouldn’t talk to us when we caught up with her at home.

With no other option, Timothy sued her in court.

Barnett told the court she gave Bear to her godson and the dog was in New Jersey.

The court ruled Bear likely belonged to Tim and he was “entitled to take possession” of the dog.

Gregory Elder/Timothy’s attorney: “So, I think she knew there was a process server and that the day of reckoning was coming.”

Attorney Gregory Elder was getting ready to ask the court to order Barnett to bring Bear back to Florida, but the family in New Jersey suddenly said they would give Bear back.

Gregory Elder: “It was a culmination of terrible events happening one after another, you know, and ultimately, of course, the worst part of it is he had to resort to the legal system.”

7 Investigates flew with Timothy to New Jersey for the reunion he feared would never happen. He was nervous until the moment bear ran into his arms.

Timothy Sweat: “My baby. We’re going to go home. Ya, we’re going to go home.”

Timothy flew Bear back here to Fort Lauderdale the same day. He is still considering a lawsuit against animal control for the money he’s spent on lawyers and flights, but for now, is just glad to have Bear back where he belongs.”

Timothy Sweat: “We’re just going to enjoy each other’s company and just get back into our normal routine and start our life again.”

A life filled with the kind of joy a precious pet can bring.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Ada Gonzalez’s top priority is the success of her students.

Ada Gonzalez, principal, Cambridge International Academy: “The parents and the children, they’re not just our students. They’re our family.”

She’s the principal of Cambridge International Academy in Pembroke Pines.

But the school nearly closed when money from the state’s school voucher program never came.

Ada Gonzalez: “It was a moment of total panic.”

That’s when the school’s owner stepped in.

Ada Gonzalez: “She had to take from her own, reach into her pocket, basically, to be able to meet payroll and max out credit cards. She’s also had to take out two high-interest loans.”

This private school isn’t the only one struggling.

Tasha Hill, director, Cutler Bay Christian Academy: “We’re finding ourselves in a bad situation. We have to explain to our employees, ‘OK. Hey, be patient. Can you wait? Can I give you a check next week?’ It’s an embarrassing situation what’s going on now.”

Cambridge International Academy and Cutler Bay Christian Academy are two of at least 2,000 private schools in Florida that are funded through Step Up for Students. The nonprofit organization is contracted by the state to distribute scholarship money that comes from state taxes and donations.

The payments are supposed to be distributed to schools quarterly, beginning no later than Sept. 1.

Tasha Hill: “In the past, we never had a issue. Funds were always on time. You can depend on it.”

Why is this school year different?

Back in March, Gov. Ron DeSantis expanded the state’s school voucher program to include all students, no matter their family income.

In a statement to 7News, the Florida Department of Education says, “A record number of Florida families have applied to take part in the expanded state scholarship program.”

But that record number is taking its toll.

Ada Gonzalez: “I feel helpless, because you call and there’s no resolution. You know, you call, you email, they tell you, ‘No, you have to email here.'”

And parents are concerned that if funds continue to trickle in little by little, some schools could close.

Jessica Jones, parent: “It’s extremely stressful, because I don’t have anywhere else to send my child. That’s just the truth: there are no other options.”

Jessica, the mother of a kindergartner with autism, says her son’s future could be jeopardized.

Jessica Jones: “I had such a struggle to find this school, so I would have to start from square one.”

Ada Gonzalez: “We’re just hopeful that it’s not going to happen again. But who knows. If we were to have to close, it would be devastating.”

Dedicated teachers continue to work at the Cambridge International Academy as they wait for the remaining funding to come in. But clearly, something needs to be done to keep these schools on course.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Parts of the video you are about to see are difficult to watch.

Investigative reporter Karen Hensel has the exclusive.

Jalisa Edwards was in a Broward courtroom, Monday morning.

Judge: “Ms. Edwards, good morning.”

Facing charges from a violent night with a man she had met on a dating app.

Karen Hensel: “Prosecutors see him as a victim. How do you see it?”

Jalisa Edwards: “He’s not a victim. I don’t see him, he’s a aggressor.”

It was Feb. 25, 2022.

The man you hear lives in this Plantation home. The woman knocking is Jalisa. They had just started dating.

Jalisa Edwards: “We went to his house. We watched a movie, and then we fell asleep for the next day for our date that we were supposed to have the next day. Yeah. So it’s a pretty simple night.”

But there was nothing simple about what happened the next night after it was clear there was no love connection.

Jalisa Edwards: “I dropped him off and then I sat in my car for a few seconds and I was like, ‘Wait. He has my belongings, phone items.’ I was like, ‘Wait, no. I have to get this stuff back. I can’t just disappear. I want my things back.'”

The man loudly and repeatedly demands Jalisa leave his home.

Man: “Get the [expletive] out of my crib.”

She does not and they argue about money Jalisa says she is owed from their day at a casino.

Watch closely. Just a minute into their argument, he pushes Jalisa. She pushes an appliance off the counter, grabs a knife, drops it and then this.

Jalisa Edwards: “Get the [expletive] off me!”

Jalisa, who did not have her cell phone, sits down at a table.

Man: “Get the [expletive] of my crib.”

Jalisa Edwards: “You have my property, you owe me money, call the police.

They continue to scream at each other and both hold knives at various times through the roughly 20 minutes of chaos. At one point, the fight moves outside.

Man: “Put the knife down, put the knife down.”

Jalisa is seen back inside the home first, throwing things around the room.

And once he comes back in, the situation goes from bad to worse

Jalisa goes at him with a knife.

They fight for control of the knife that he eventually gets and starts to stab her repeatedly as she begs for help

Jalisa Edwards: “Please, please help me. Please help me.”

The video shows him stabbing at her more than 60 times.

Jalisa Edwards: “I thought I was done. I thought I was gone. I thought, I thought about my mom.”

Jalisa Edwards in the video: “Please stop hurting me, please stop hurting me, I’m so sorry.”

Man: “I tried to call the [expletive] police.”

He is still on top of her when Plantation Police officers rush in.

Officer: “Get down, get the [expletive] down now!”

They cuff him but he was not the one who ended up with a mug shot. She was.

The man, who we are not identifying because he is listed as the “victim,” told police: “…I wasn’t trying to hurt her or kill her. I just really wanted her to leave my house…”

Officers wrote he had a “severed tendon in his right pinkie” and a picture shows a cut on his shoulder.

Jalisa Edwards: “My pinkie could have fully came off.”

Jalisa says she had three surgeries, got more than 60 stitches on her hands, along with 10 staples in her head.

Gordon Weekes/Broward public defender: “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Broward public defender Gordon Weekes says their client was the one fighting for her life.

Gordon Weekes: “There is absolutely no justification for that level of violence that he’s using towards her.”

Back in court, the man’s mother said the whole situation could have been avoided.

Victim’s mother: “I hope moving forward that she learns from this. Also, my son, I hope he learns from this.”

Jalisa decided not to roll the dice with a jury trial. She agreed to a plea deal of two years probation and must complete an anger management program.

Jalisa Edwards: “It’s something that did change my life. It taught me a lot. For one, just walk away.”

The Broward State Attorney’s Office called their offer “appropriate and fair” and said “the case was resolved in a manner that both sides found acceptable and appropriate, considering everything that happened.” Jalisa must still pay restitution for damages done inside the home and his medical bills.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

Speaking with 7News on Saturday, the parents of UM students who live at The Cloisters apartment complex voiced their frustration

“Everybody here has an issue. There are some that came a very long distance because they are so worried about their child,” said concerned parent Rob Connors. “We feel like we’re not getting any answers, we’re just hearing about more problems.”

The latest issue, these parents said, is a gas leak in one of the buildings.

“We’re about day 4 now; it’s Saturday,” said one parent. “I don’t believe that the local gas companies are here. I don’t see them.”

7 Investigates has kept a close eye on the conditions at The Cloisters.

Just last month, a sewage backup pushed feces into bathtubs, overflowing the toilets and filling kitchen sinks.

“It was an overabundance of live, fresh, raw sewage coming out the very first night that these students moved in,” said one parent, “and now [my daughter’s] apartment is a construction zone with sand, dirt, the floor dug up, pipes exposed and no resolution.”

Plumbing is not the only problem. These students told 7 Investigates’ Karen Hensel that safety also has been a concern.

“We don’t have window shades, we don’t have blinds,” said a student.

“I tried to open my closet door, and it fell off on top of me,” said another student

Adding to broken promises of move-in ready apartments — fully furnished, with a fitness center and a pool

“There’s no amenities, there’s nothing, nothing, nothing that they have delivered except walls and a ceiling,” said one parent.

Students shared new pictures of the gym shared with 7News. Weights stacked on top of each other, and dust is seen surrounding the equipment.

Landmark Properties, the company that owns The Cloisters, told 7 Investigates, “The health and safety of our residents is top priority. We are addressing work orders as quickly as we are able and by level of priority.”

However, these students are still put out, and their parents are stuck paying high rent. Now they want action.

“They need to let people out of their lease, and they need to most likely knock the building down,” said one parent.

“The look of it it doesn’t match the brochure, and I think that’s pretty clear, right?” said Connors. “What we signed up for was sort of a paradise place that was really nearby, and the rent was high, and we knew that. We wanted our kids to be in a good place. What were getting is not that.”

These parents added that they will continue pressing forward, contacting local officials in hopes of some answers.

The pictures tell the story inside the Cloisters apartments. A sewage backup pushing feces into bathtubs, overflowing the toilets and filling kitchen sinks.

This UM student did not want to appear on camera but shared these pictures and video of her brand-new apartment.

Anonymous UM student: “And I came back to see this, and there was no way to stop it. I used all my towels, all my friends’ towels, everything. And then I called the emergency contact, and no one answered it.”

Human waste coming from plumbing is a common concern.

Gianna: “We currently have feces coming out of our kitchen sink, and we’re trying to get someone on it.”

Celeste Fisher says her bathroom is also a mess.

Celeste Fisher, UM junior: “We don’t have shower-heads either. And when we tried to shower out of the hole, there was gunk coming out of the shower.”

Karen Hensel: “What kind of gunk?”

Celeste Fisher: “It was like almost like a brown sandy substance.”

But it’s not just plumbing problems plaguing the students.

Alyssa: “We don’t have window shades, we don’t have any blinds.”

Anonymous UM student: “I tried to open my closet door, and it fell off on top of me. So we used the closet door to block the window.”

Some students say they have no locks on their doors, which is a safety concern for both them and their parents.

One parent wrote on Facebook, “Construction workers can see into every window and door,” saying the complex has placed “…Hundreds of students in unlivable and potentially deadly conditions.”

Karen Hensel: “Do you feel safe here?”

Anonymous student: “No, I’m not sleeping here anymore.”

Celeste Fisher: “No, not at all. God, no.”

Gianna Rettew: “No, absolutely not.”

Alyssa Mirenda: “Our front door is like rotting, rotting off. Someone could kick it down.”

Brooke Harrison: “No, it’s not good.”

Landmark Properties owns the Cloisters and tells 7 Investigates, “The health and safety of our residents is our top priority. We are addressing work orders as quickly as we are able and by level of priority.”

If it is bad enough students cannot live in their apartment, Landmark says they are “…providing alternate accommodations.”

Records show Miami-Dade County did issue a temporary certificate of occupancy.

How or why? We don’t know, because the county has not responded.

But we were there when a team of county inspectors arrived this week.

Meanwhile, students tell us the situation is taking a toll.

Celeste Fisher: “It’s already put so much stress on me, so much stress on my parents, like, I’m getting behind in school. I can’t – I feel like I can’t live, you know? It really sucks.”

Karen: “What is this doing to your schoolwork?”

Alyssa Mirenda: “It’s like midterms right now, so we’re having a hard time. We’re more worried about the feces in our sink than studying.”

Some parents have hired attorneys and sent lease termination letters. Others are simply trying to find a place anywhere other than here for their students to live and study.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

Miami-Dade County RER released the following statement to 7 News:

Last week, the Miami-Dade County’s building official overseeing permitting for the unincorporated portion of the county received inquiries from concerned parents of students residing at the Cloisters housing development, after a sewage line blockage was reported at one of the buildings located near the University of Miami Campus.

The affected building is one of two that have been undergoing renovations by the contractor, Landmark Construction LLC, located at 5830 SW 57 Avenue, with four dwelling units affected by the blockage.

The contractor applied for a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) from Miami-Dade County as it continued to work on finalizing details. The contractor opted to use a private provider for inspections, Universal Engineering Sciences, as permitted by state law, in lieu of the County, to perform all site inspections necessary to confirm compliance with the building code, up to and including the TCO. Miami-Dade County’s Building Official issued the TCO on Friday, September 19, 2023, based on the inspection approval and recommendations provided by Universal Engineering Sciences, which recommended the TCO be issued and allow occupancy.

On Tuesday morning, September 26th, and based on the complaints received, Miami-Dade County building inspectors of all trades were on site to meet with the private provider and the contractor to inspect the complaints and the current on-site conditions. The contractor provided Miami-Dade County with a list of action items to address the problems, which included clearing the blockage and videoing all sewer lines. Any additional work necessary to remedy the problems found will require additional permitting and inspections.

State law gives a project owner the right to choose a third-party private inspection company instead of using the local building official.  In this case, the building official assumes an audit role.  The County is conducting a full audit of the private provider’s services to make sure that all required inspections for the project were performed and the personnel sent to inspect have the proper credentials, are employees of the private provider company, and maintain the proper level of professional liability insurance, as required by law.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

7’s Karen Hensel investigates.

Munchie is the face of Munchie’s Pizza Club in Fort Lauderdale.

It’s a restaurant by day and club at night.

But Munchie’s is being dogged by former business partners, and the owner says his employees are concerned.

Steve Berke: “They’re nervous about these people coming back in here and hurting them.”

Back in March, surveillance video shows a man walking around inside the restaurant when it was closed. He props open the front door and 12 people walk in.

They grab equipment around the DJ stage and walk out.

Steve Berke: “They took LED processors, they took a laptop computer, they took money, they took all kinds of production equipment.”

Police reports say an employee showed up while it was happening. He was injured when he tried to stop the group.

Steve Berke: “One of the perpetrators, swung one of our LED panels at him and cut him up on his arms.”

Thankfully that employee recovered, but Steve says his workers were left terrified again in August. A group of people walked in, unbolted an LED screen off the wall and loaded it onto a truck waiting at the corner.

Steve Berke: While we were open for business, while we had patrons inside.”

An employee tries to close the doors, but the group forces them open and two men walk out with the LED screen.

According to police reports, employees identified two of the people in the group as Nelson Dejesus Avalo Jr. and Peter Maxwell Verna.

They have a business called Collegiate Nightlife LLC.

Steve Berke: “We had hire them to promote certain nights.”

Steve told police he was in the process of renegotiating the restaurant’s contract with the company for the spring break season. But he and Avalo Jr. couldn’t come to an agreement.

Police are investigating if it has something to do with the equipment being taken.

Steve Berke: “There was a process to file a police report, and even though we had them on camera, they, because they said, ‘Oh, well, some of the stuff was theirs, That might be a civil matter.’ While some of the equipment belonged to them, a lot of it was ours.”

We called and emailed Avalo Jr. and Verna. They didn’t answer our messages.

No one else caught on video has been identified, and no arrests have been made.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department tells 7News: “…Due to the different aspects of the case (civil vs criminal), it has taken some time to gather all of the available information from the victim and witnesses.”

Steve says the wait has been tough for his employees.

Steve Berke: “Right. They’ve come twice and they are nervous.”

Steve quickly replaced the equipment that was taken but restoring his employees’ peace of mind may take some time.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

Fort Lauderdale Police on Tuesday told 7News they referred the case to the State Attorney’s Office.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Carmel Cafiero was known for her unwavering passion, persistence, and pointed questions, leaving an indelible mark on journalism in South Florida. Her commitment to seeking the truth and holding those in power accountable was a hallmark of her career.

“How can you justify giving out a million oxycodone pills? Don’t touch the camera, don’t touch the camera!” Cafiero said in one of her investigations.

She was always on the case and usually on someone’s tail.

“Mr. Rodriguez, where are you going? Wait, mister,” Cafiero said.

Born in New Orleans, Cafiero initially worked in radio before making her mark at WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge, where she became the first woman to anchor an evening newscast in the state. In 1973, she joined Channel 7, then known as WCKT, as a general assignment reporter, becoming the station’s first female journalist at a time when newsrooms were predominantly male.

“Not only was she breaking stories, she was breaking ceilings with who she was and the quality of her professionalism,” Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Miami-Dade State Attorney told 7News.

“The thing that I find rewarding about my work is informing people, and if by informing people we can avoid one person from being hurt or taken in, then it’s a success,” Cafiero said in one of her investigations.

Cafiero fearlessly pursued stories that exposed wrongdoing and served the public interest.

In one of Carmel’s first big stories, she wore a wig and went undercover to expose unlicensed doctors who performed abortions and clinic workers who told women they were pregnant when they weren’t. Carmel was told she was pregnant based on a urine sample from her male photographer.

Her investigative work exposed defective Chinese drywall in South Florida homes, dangerous pet jerky treats from China linked to dog deaths, and the sale of used mattresses as new.

“We found dirt, we found stains, we found hair, we even found stains on cardboard in the children’s mattress,” Cafiero said in one of her investigations.

In 2008, Carmel Cafiero’s groundbreaking reporting unveiled the opioid crisis, with Broward County at its epicenter.

“It was a scourge on our community. Seven Floridians a day were dying from overdoses,” Al Lamberti, former Broward County Sheriff said.

Millions of highly addictive prescription painkillers flowed freely from clinics to people. Many from out of state, who used, abused and sold them.

“We have pictures of people snorting, shooting up in this parking lot after coming out of your clinic. I mean, what do you have to say about what’s going on here?,” Cafiero said in a previous story.

“I don’t think you’re right,” the clinic owner said.

Her series led to the prosecution of clinic operators and doctors and earned her the prestigious Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award. Her work not only won awards but also contributed to saving lives and influencing changes in the law.

“One of the things that her stories were critical for, we got that prescription drug monitoring program. It was passed by the Florida legislature, mainly because of the media attention that Carmel brought to the problem,” said Lamberti.

Carmel Cafiero’s dedication extended beyond investigative reporting.

She shed light on the plight of young teens overdosing outside a Pompano Beach nightclub, confronting the club’s owner, a convicted felon.

“If you know anything about my background, if you know anything about my background, then you’d leave me alone,” the club’s owner said.

Some people may have tried to hide from the law, but they couldn’t hide from Carmel.

“Don’t run from me… Don’t you think as a public official, you ought to answer our questions?” Carmel said during an investigation.

“I’m wondering how you’re able to park in a disabled spot?” she told officials.

She also exposed the deception of self-proclaimed celebrity “psychic” Miss Cleo, whose customers were deceived nationwide.

“I think you are quite finished. Thank you, my dear,” Cleo told Carmel.

During a time of national crisis after the September 11th attacks, Cafiero was the first reporter allowed inside terrorist Mohamed Atta’s former Hollywood apartment.

“It will take more than soap and water to scrub away the stains and the ghosts left behind by the terrorists responsible for our national nightmare.”

Her commitment to seeking truth and uncovering the facts knew no bounds, taking her from the streets of South Florida to towns across the globe.

In 1997, she tracked down former Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Gersten in Australia, and in 2013, she interviewed Francesco Schettino, the captain of one of the worst cruise ship disasters in history in Italy.

“They’ve called you this, ‘Chicken of the Sea.’ They’ve called you ‘Captain Coward,” Carmel said.

“I cannot be a coward. If you are a captain of a ship, you are not a coward. Come on, this is a joke,” Schettino said.

“You think back about the kind of impact that she’s had — whether it was after Hurricane Andrew, helping change the building code — She went down there and covered so much of that,” said Fernandez Rundle.

Cafiero also covered the devastation caused by hurricanes in both of her hometowns.

“This is your roof, right? This is what your roof was made up of?” Cafiero said.

“I was born and raised in and around New Orleans. Coming back now is both a heartbreaking and a heartwarming journey.”

Her compassion extended to the story of Selma Shapiro, whose home was a literal nightmare, infested with rats and covered in droppings.

Cafiero’s relentless reporting played a role in rallying the community to help Selma and turn her life around.

“I didn’t realize that people actually cared about me. I thought no one cared about me, but I found out differently,” Selma Shapiro told Carmel when she helped her.

Throughout her 43-year career, Carmel Cafiero consistently asked tough questions in her relentless pursuit of the truth. Her legacy as a fearless investigative journalist will forever be remembered in South Florida.

Carmel Cafiero is survived by her husband Bob, her daughter Courtney and her two granddaughters Mariah and Melanie.

“I am grateful for you allowing me into your homes and for WSVN for giving me that opportunity.”

Click here to see all of Carmel’s investigations.

Most college kids look forward to getting out of the dorms and into their own apartments.

Amanda Mohamad, UM student: “I don’t have a home. I don’t have a home.”

UM sophomore Amanda Mohamad was looking forward to moving into The Cloisters Student Apartments near campus. Instead, she’s been stuck in a hotel while the apartments are being renovated.

Amanda Mohamad: “Exactly 30 days.”

Her parents are still paying the rent for an apartment where she can’t live.

Eric Mohamad, Amanda’s father: “So they’ve asked for two months’ rent payment before the kids have actually even moved in yet.”

The Cloisters is supposed to offer furnished student apartments, a fitness center and a pool. Plus, it’s just a short walk to campus.

Anh Steininger, parent of student in hotel: “It does not look like it is ready to be moved in.”

Parents shared pictures from the past two weeks with 7 Investigates. They are concerned with how long it’s taking for work to be completed.

Anh Steininger: “It’s obvious that it’s not ready, yet they keep sending out emails that it is ready, until the day before, and that’s when they say, ‘Oh, by the way, it’s not ready.'”

Landmark Properties bought the Cloisters property a few years ago.

In 2022, it began renovating the existing apartments, along with adding new townhomes. The apartments were supposed to be ready by Aug. 18.

The move-in date has been pushed back at least three times.

Anh Steininger: “I think these kids have so much going on already, the last thing they need is more stress as to where they are going to live.”

And parents are stressed because they are still on the hook for the rent.

This 56-page lease says “…The failure on the part of the landlord to assign a unit to resident … shall not relieve resident of his or her responsibilities…”
If the apartment isn’t ready, the landlord can provide “temporary accommodations (which may include, without limitation, hotels)…”

Eric Mohamad: “So, if they’re providing a hotel space for you, then you can’t break the lease. And that’s what’s written in the lease.”

The lease says it can only be broken within 30 days of the move-in date if “alternative accommodations” are not provided.

Amanda Mohamad: “All I have is a bedroom and a bathroom and a very small closet. I don’t even have, you know, drawer space for my clothes. I’m practically living out of my suitcases.”

We reached out to Landmark Properties.

The company tells 7 Investigates, “We are on schedule for all students to move into the renovated buildings on our Cloisters Miami property Friday morning, September 22. … Unforeseen construction delays pushed back our move-in timeline for this final group of move-ins.”

Parents and students are skeptical, because the move-in has been pushed back so many times.

For now, it’s set for Friday, but that doesn’t mean everything is finished. Landmark Properties says work continues on the pool, fitness center and leasing office.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

Students tell 7News they were notified about the move-ins late Thursday, and they’ve been told they can pick up their keys starting Friday at 7 a.m.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Karen Hensel has tonight’s 7 Investigates.

Errol Leath reads his Bible everyday.

He suffers from epileptic seizures and has difficulty speaking.

Errol Leath/mistaken for murder suspect: “I couldn’t like, correct proper terms or read properly, so I’ll often always read.”

Because of his epilepsy he can’t drive so he takes the bus. But his ride turned frightening when he got off the bus on July 19.

Officer: “You right there! Don’t [expletive] move.”

Within seconds, Errol is on the ground surrounded by a fugitive task force with rifles pointed down at him.

Errol Leath: “What did I do?”

Officer: “Don’t [expletive] move man.”

Errol Leath: “What did I do? I got epilepsy, bro.”

Officer: “It’s alright. Be cool, bro.”

Errol Leath: “I got seizures, bro.”

He repeatedly tells the officers he has epileptic seizures and repeatedly asks what he did wrong.

Errol Leath: “Check my pockets man. I got medicine, dude.”

When police check his bag they find his bible, ID, and seizure medication.

Officer: “Errol Leath. What’s your name?”

Errol Leath: “Errol Leath!”

Officer: “OK.”

That’s when they realize Errol is not their murder suspect. But police still have one more question.

Officer: “Why’d you start to run away from the police though?”

Errol Leath: “I didn’t thought you was after me!”

Officer: “Listen, you look like someone we’re looking for, OK? That’s wanted for murder.”

Errol Leath: “Murder?! I never killed no one in my life.”

Officer: “Alright, we didn’t say you did. These things happen. You look just like him. So.”

Errol Leath: “Dude, I see my neurologist this Friday.”

Police hid the faces of the task force members, including U.S Marshals before releasing their body camera video to 7 Investigates.

During the 13-minute exchange, Errol is visibly distressed.

Errol Leath: “I’m trying to recover from seizures man. Y’all are making this worse, bro.”

We met with Errol here at the bus stop where this case of mistaken identity went down. He ended up at the hospital that day afraid the stress was going to trigger another seizure.

Errol Leath: “I was going into a blurriness and that’s what slightly happens when you’re going into an episode.”

Once police realized they had the wrong man…

Officer: “Listen, it’s unfortunate, but you have, it’s almost like your twin brother.”

Officers explained.

Officer: “OK, it was a mis-identity, alright that’s wanted for murder, OK? So a pretty serious crime, which is why the way that we come out, is the way that we did.”

They also apologized.

Officer: “And these things happen sometimes. Like 99% of the time we get the right person but you look identical, which will be documented in the report, OK? And unfortunately, this circumstance happened to you. So, apologize for that.”

So who was the Fugitive Task Force actually looking for? This man. 40-year-old Daenon King, who three weeks later, was arrested, accused of shooting a 68-year-old man in the back of the neck.

Karen Hensel: “So this is the person that they were looking for.”

Errol Leath: “Oh my goodness”

Karen Hensel: “Do you see the resemblance?”

Errol Leath: “Oh, wow. That doesn’t look like me. That’s not me.”

In a statement, Fort Lauderdale Police tell us officers saw “a man with several identifying features that were similar to the suspect … in an area known to be frequented by the suspect.”

The department apologized to Errol. The full statement reads as follows:

“The Fort Lauderdale Police Department would like to express our sincere apology to the man who was mistakenly identified as a suspect being sought for a violent murder.

On July 19, 2023, FLPD’s Career Criminal Unit, working in conjunction with the US Marshals Task Force, observed a man with several identifying features that were similar to the suspect being sought for the murder. This man, identified later as Errol Leath, was observed in an area known to be frequented by the suspect. Mr. Leath was seen exiting a bus, saw our officers, and began to flee. Our officers had their firearms drawn because the suspect was known to be armed and dangerous. They detained Mr. Leath without incident and quickly realized he was not the suspect. Mr. Leath was immediately released from handcuffs. Detectives explained to Mr. Leath what had happened and apologized for the error. They additionally ensured Mr. Leath that the incident would be documented and explained how he could obtain a copy of the report if he wished.

The actual suspect, identified as Daenon Malik King, B/M, DOB 05/25/1983, was located by FLPD’s Career Criminal Unit on August 11, 2023. He was arrested and charged with the murder of Jackie Robinson Brown that occurred on April 5, 2023.

We recognize the impact this mistake can have on an innocent individual. We will continue to be committed to upholding the highest standards of accountability, transparency, and fairness in our policing efforts as we serve our community.”

Errol Leath: “I didn’t think it was me. I’m getting off the bus thinking they’re going after someone else. I’m trying to get out the way. I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy to go through that.”

A case of mistaken identity that has left Errol deeply troubled.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

This is Bear. Timothy Sweat adopted him when he was just a puppy.

Timothy Sweat: “He is a very sweet little boy. He is a Yorkie-poo, spoiled. He’s 3 years old, and we have never been apart.”

But that changed on July 19, when Timothy took Bear for an evening walk near Federal Highway and Northeast First Street in Dania Beach.

Timothy Sweat: “I was approached by a young man who seemed very interested in my dog, and then he attempted to take my dog. And when I stopped him, he assaulted me.”

Timothy was so badly beaten, he suffered a brain injury and had to be hospitalized for nearly two weeks.

Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies took Bear to Broward County Animal Care.

Timothy Sweat: “He was supposed to be taken into protective services while I was in surgery, and I’ve heard that they keep dogs up to three weeks if you’re out in a medical situation. And my dog was put up for adoption after seven days and adopted quickly.”

The woman who adopted Bear is Sharon Barnett of Margate. Timothy says he called her every day to ask her to return Bear.

He says she only talked to him once.

Timothy Sweat: “She listened to what I had to say, and she goes, ‘I have no further comment.’ And now there’s been no response from her whatsoever.”

We tried to talk to Sharon Barnett at her home.

Karen Hensel: “I’m Karen with 7News. Can we talk to you about the dog that you adopted?”

She would not answer our questions.

Timothy says he felt his only choice was to hire a lawyer.

Marcy Lahart, Sweat’s attorney: “It’s unfortunate that this had to happen. If this person who adopted the dog had an ounce of compassion, she would return the dog to its rightful owner who loves and needs the dog.”

Attorney Marcy Lahart says the shelter had no right to adopt Bear out in the first place.

Marcy Lahart: “Never have I seen a situation where the animal control knew exactly who owned the dog and where that person was, and they were in the hospital, no less, and just said, ‘Too bad, so sad, you didn’t get here in five days, so your dog is no longer yours.'”

Lahart says Bear was microchipped, and Timothy never gave permission for him to be adopted, so they’re asking a judge to order Sharon Barnett to return the dog.

Timothy, meanwhile, is slowly recovering from his injuries.

Timothy Sweat: “Other than my vision and my balance at times, I’m on the road to recovery, but it’s just a slow process. They said there’s no time frame for improving your brain.”

But his broken heart would be healed if he could get Bear back.

And he has a message for Sharon Barnett.

Timothy Sweat: “This is my child. You can’t keep him. That’s it.”

A judge still has to review the court filing. Meanwhile, Timothy now has legal bills on top of his mounting hospital bills.

He has started a GoFundMe page. If you would like to make a donation, click here.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

The sounds of burning rubber, revving engines and gunfire.

Dispatcher: “Female shot in the leg, male grazed in the shoulder.”

A combustible mix that ended with three people injured in Northwest Miami-Dade on Aug. 6.

Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, Miami-Dade Police Department: “We could have had multiple people dead.”

A week later on South Beach…

Witness: “Yeah, there was a good amount of blood.”

A man was beaten during another street takeover.

Witness: “As the guy was walking, he jumped off his bike and started wailing on him.”

And just this past weekend at an intersection in Miami, drivers were doing donuts in a ring of fire. Videos like this are often shared on social media.

It’s one thing to watch this reckless behavior caught on camera. But it’s an entirely different story to be an innocent driver literally caught in the middle of one of these street takeovers.

George Baraque, caught in street takeover: “They had very strategically blocked the entire tunnel.”

On July 17, George Baraque was driving home from work around 1 a.m. His dash camera recorded as he entered the tunnel on U.S. 1 near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

George Baraque: “Everybody in that tunnel was trapped.”

George couldn’t see the riders blocking cars, but he could definitely hear them.

George Baraque (to 911): “The southbound ramp is being blocked by a bunch of goons.”

George and other drivers called 911.

911 caller: “You’ve got racers doing donuts in the road underneath the main airport runway.”

George Baraque (to 911): “And I think I’m hearing gunshots. There are about maybe 250 cars blocked here.”

George Baraque: “This was a petri dish for all kinds of disasters, starting with somebody just inadvertently ramming in from behind and causing a chain reaction which might have resulted in multiple injuries or even a fire.”

Lt. Alex Camacho, Florida Highway Patrol: “We’ve seen it actually becoming a trend.”

FHP Lt. Alex Camacho says racers aren’t always arrested on the spot. But a tougher state law — and watchful eyes — mean police can catch up and eventually cuff those involved.

Lt. Alex Camacho: “We have analysts that are continuously monitoring all social media platforms.”

Street racing and stunt driving citations have spiked in recent years. Eight hundred and ninety-six were issued statewide in 2018, but by 2022, that number had more than doubled to nearly 2,000.

Drivers, race organizers, even passengers, now face possible jail time and their vehicles being impounded.

Lt. Alex Camacho: “The biggest thing is, don’t try to confront these individuals. These can be dangerous people within these groups.”

George, a former police officer himself, knew to stay put.

George Baraque: “I started seeing people getting out of the car and filming the actual event in front. I didn’t get out of my car.”

He was trapped in the tunnel for nearly 15 minutes … before police sirens were heard and this blockade came to an end.

But the signs of danger were left behind.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

If you recognize participants or any of these vehicles — or have information about an upcoming street racing event — authorities ask that you email them. The address: StopRacing@flhsmv.gov.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com