Cash4Keys principals, United Realty agent accused of stealing elderly man’s house, dumping him in Miami Gardens

Two South Florida investors, a real estate agent and a notary are accused in horrifying allegations of defrauding a 71-year-old man of his home and abandoning him at a rooming house.

The group allegedly coerced the man, who suffered from dementia, into transferring ownership of his Hollywood home to the investors’ real estate business, Cash4Keys, the Broward County Property Appraiser’s office said in a news release. The home was valued at about $300,000.

They later left the man at a Miami Gardens boarding house, officials said. 

Police arrested the four people on a combined 15 charges. Brandon Lee Miguel, 25, and Jordy Luis Perez, 25, who lead the Miami-based homebuying company Cash4Keys, face six criminal counts each, including for defraud, grand theft, elder exploitation and money laundering.

Monica Elizabeth Castelli, 56, of United Realty Group, faces two criminal counts, for kidnapping and elder exploitation, according to the news release. And notary Derek Enrique, 43, faces one count of false or fraudulent acknowledgements.

Officials say the group obtained the elderly man’s signature on a power of attorney and a deed, which were falsely notarized, to transfer his home of more than 25 years to Miguel and Perez’s company. The man was reportedly incapable of understanding the documents he signed due to dementia and cognitive impairment, officials said.

Miguel and Perez allegedly arranged for Castelli to remove the man from his home and drop him at a “dilapidated rooming house” in Miami Gardens, where he was abandoned, according to the news release, first reported by the Orlando Sentinel.

They went on to enter and empty the man’s home, officials said. That included removing three cars, which were later reported missing.

A family member contacted the Hollywood Police Department to report the property transfer, and the investigation began.

It’s not the only time elder exploitation has been entangled with real estate in recent years. 

A Miami caregiver in 2023 was accused of fraudulently taking her client’s real estate by doctoring documents and signatures. Last year, another health care aide was accused of exploiting a patient into signing over a $1.1 million home in Plantation.

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