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Clearwater Pair Charged With Using Title Firm To Milk Clients

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 22, 2008

Updated: 01/22/2008 11:46 am

CLEARWATER - A former Pinellas sheriff's deputy and his wife were arrested this morning at their waterfront home and charged with stealing more than $7 million as part of a scheme involving a title company, authorities said.

Jarrell Britts

Jarrell Britts, 55, was charged with three counts of escrow funds theft, with each count alleging more than $100,000 stolen, said Detective Steven Firestone, the investigator with the state Department of Financial Services' Fraud Division who handled the case. Britts was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on $150,000 bail.

Prosecutors uncovered 17 illegal transactions during a three-year period and are expected to file more charges, Firestone said.

Britts' wife, Katherine, 47, was charged with grand theft of more than $100,000. Her bail was set at $20,000.

Lt. John Womer, who heads the Fraud Division's St. Petersburg branch, said the couple once owned a title company called Eagle Title and Abstract. The two are accused of stealing roughly $2.5 million that homebuyers had put in escrow accounts pending acquisitions.

Katherine Britts

The couple then sold the title company for $4.5 million even though it was worth only a fraction of that amount, and they were able to do so because Katherine Britts made false entries in business ledgers, Firestone said.

The new owner made Jarrell Britts the manager, and the couple continued to siphon money from the company, with Katherine Britts continuing to doctor the company's books to cover up the thefts, Woman said.

The pair were arrested at their home at 461 Palm Island N.E., Womer said.

Pinellas Sheriff's Sgt. Jim Bordner said Britts worked as a deputy for the sheriff's office from 1976 until 1988. He resigned three years after he was demoted. It could not be determined why he was demoted because the sheriff's office isn't required to maintain internal affairs cases for that long a period of time.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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