Mother and son accused of trying to defraud elderly ex-employer of $200,000 property
A Broward State Attorney’s Office employee and her son are accused of attempting to swindle an elderly man out of a property worth approximately $200,000, court documents show.
Josephine Brown, 65, and Debarris James, 47, were arrested Friday on charges of organized fraud and exploitation of an elderly person after she unlawfully transferred a property to her son, according to their probable cause affidavit reports. James also faces additional charges that include first degree grand theft and unlawfully filing false documents.
Both are no longer in custody, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s inmate search.
“I never did any crime,” Brown told WPLG Local 10 on Saturday. “I have always been faithful to my job. I love my job.”
Brown was hired in March of 2001 and worked as a legal assistant in the mental health felony unit, according to the state attorney’s office. She planned to retire in August before being suspended on Friday.
The incident report states that on Nov. 3, 2023, the unnamed victim signed a quit claim deed that transferred the property, which was identified as a funeral home, from the 94-year-old man to James. That same day, Brown notarized the signing at the nursing facility where the nonagenarian lives.
Brown later told BSO Deputy Joseph F. Sommovigo that James planned to open “a new corporation” once the property was in his name.
Although both Brown and her son previously worked for the elderly man, who has been under “court-ordered guardianship” since 2022, the deputy found no evidence that James had a claim to the property or a “written or verbal contract” to take over the funeral home, the affidavit states.
“It was apparent that he was not cognizant of what he had signed due to his health status,” Sommovigo wrote.
The Broward County Property Appraiser Office recorded the deed on Nov. 7, 2023, valuing the property at approximately $200,000, according to the affidavit.
Due to the involvement of an employee, the case was transferred to the 20th Circuit State Attorney’s Office at the request of the Broward State Attorney’s Office.
