Family must leave Riverview home as authorities investigate 'landlord'

Carmelo Perez and Yesenia Valentin thought they were living the American dream.

They said they spotted an ad on Craigslist for a four-bedroom, two-bath house with a pool in Riverview for only $900 a month. Perez and Valentin signed a rental agreement with Brevkam Ventures, LLC.

The house needed a lot of work, but the family of four moved in last September. "The paint was really bad, so we have put a lot of paint in here," Perez said.  "The other rooms, they had graffiti on the walls, a couple of walls had to be patched.  It's a lot of work, but now it's cozy for the girls."

That cozy feeling turned uneasy when a Hillsborough County sheriff's detective showed up at the front door, investigating Brevkam Ventures.

An 8 On Your Side investigation found in Hillsborough County, Brevkam Ventures and two other companies, Homes for Americans, LLC, and Chateau Lan, LLC are taking possession of dozens of houses without the owners' knowledge or permission, then collecting money from people who move into the properties.

All three companies are filing forms with the property appraiser's office, stating they are taking possession of the properties under Florida's adverse possession law.

Adverse possession is a law that allows someone to take possession and ownership of abandoned property if they live on it and pay taxes on it for seven years.

The sheriff's office is investigating allegations that Brevkam Ventures, Homes for Americans and Chateau Lan are conducting elaborate schemes to defraud property owners and tenants.

"We need to stop these companies and these individuals who are out there right now who are conducting these con games, these schemes," said sheriff's office spokesman Larry McKinnon.

McKinnon said the sheriff's office has forwarded five similar cases to the Hillsborough County State Attorney for prosecution.  As yet, no charges have been filed.

State incorporation records show George Williams of Valrico runs Brevkam Ventures and Kendra V. Lowe of Ruskin is its registered agent.

Williams, 41, denied any involvement in placing people in properties.

"I have put nobody in no homes," Williams said.  "I am not involved in any of the work."

When Valentin moved into the Riverview property, she recorded on her cell phone, a video home tour for relatives.

"There's George, the landlord, working on my refrigerator," Valentin said on the video.

Williams is shown working in the kitchen, checking out a broken garage door, then discussing waiving a security deposit for Valentin and Perez.

Lowe refused to discuss Williams or Brevkam Ventures.

"If you call this phone number again, I am going to call the police and tell them you are harassing me," she said.  Lowe then hung up.

Williams said his attorney, Michelle Williams, handles all the paperwork for Brevkam and denied taking any homes through adverse possession.

"We haven't done any of them right now."  He said he would consult with Williams and call back with more information.

Michelle Williams said she is not an attorney.  She said she is Brevkam Ventures property manager.  She produced documents showing Brevkam and George Williams placed people into several vacant houses.

"I have six properties occupied by Brevkam Ventures, so he's lying and my documents don't lie," Michelle Williams said.

Property appraiser records show Brevkam filed claims on nine properties in Hillsborough County.  Each document is signed with the name George Williams.

All of this leaves Perez, who says he rented the Riverview house in good faith, feeling sick. He said he bought a refrigerator, stove, washer and dryer.  Each room took a week to paint.

His daughter attends elementary school just around the corner.  His wife loves what she thought was her new home.

"All the hard work I put into here, and then, now we all got to move out again and figure out what we're going to do," he said.