FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Police on Friday filed charges against a man accused of defrauding at least 25 members of the Haitian community out of $153,000.
Police accused 54-year-old Gabriel Chauvel of committing organized scheme to defraud.
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According to police, between Nov. 2012 and Aug. 2013, Chauvel offered to show housing by advertising over Haitian radio. After finding a property, the customers put down a deposit between $5,000 and $15,000.
When they tried terminating their contract within a 90-day period, Chauvel refused to return their down payments, police say.
When the radio stations learned they had been used to defraud listeners, they began cooperating with investigators.
Chauvel ran businesses out of Broward and Palm Beach Counties, as well as Central Florida, according to police. A woman originally accused in the case has been cooperating with investigators.
Chauvel hasn't been arrested.
Anyone with information in the case is asked to call the Fort Lauderdale Police Department at 954-828-6070