Orlando man accused of practicing real estate without a license

Orlando man accused of practicing real estate without a license


Sheriff's Office, Orlando police places charges in two cases with a total loss of $100,000

March 04, 2011

By Gary Taylor, Orlando Sentinel

Orange County Sheriff's investigators said an Orlando man accepted a $45,000 down payment for a house he did not own and conducted business as a real-estate agent although he is not one.

Dave B. Howell, 31, faces charges of practicing real estate without a license and grand theft, Detective William E. Cruz said.

Van Thi Thanh Huynh, 37, of Orlando contacted the Sheriff's Office after Howell kept delaying the closing date for the sale and would not return her money, according to a Sheriff's report.

Huynh told deputies she met with Howell last June and gave him two checks totaling $45,000 and was scheduled to close on the sale July 23, but that Howell kept changing the date.


She said she checked county records and determined Howell was not listed as the owner of the home and that it was listed as being under foreclosure, according to the report.

Cruz said Howell was able to get the owners of the house to sign it over to him under false pretenses by informing them that the papers they were signing were short sale documents. Instead, they were signing a warranty deed, he said.

The money Huynh gave Howell was to be deposited into an escrow account, Cruz said. But the money was depleted from the account and it was closed because it was overdrawn, he said.

"In essence, the money was completely misappropriated," Cruz said.

The Orlando Police Department has made an almost identical case against Howell and another is under investigation, Orlando police Detective John Tritt said.

His agency arrested Howell about 4 a.m. Sunday in a case in which a woman paid $55,000 cash for a down payment on a home last September, Tritt said.

Investigators believe others may have been victimized by Howell and are hoping they will come forward. They can contact the Sheriff's Office at 407-836-4357.


gtaylor@tribune.com or 407-391-9681