Men swindled South Florida’s Haitian investors by promising them millions, state says
A Miami-Dade man promised a retired pastor that investing $35,000 would help raise the standard of living of Haitians in South Florida and Haiti. The money, he led the pastor to believe, was geared toward projects in agriculture, business, real estate, finance and solar-power technology benefiting the island nation.
But investigators say the funds — part of more than $700,000 swindled in total — ended up in the pockets of Anson Jean-Pierre.
Jean-Pierre, 61, now faces a slew of charges connected to the alleged fraud targeting Haitian American investors in Miami-Dade and Broward. He was arrested Tuesday after an investigation by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation uncovered the scheme, which ran from August 2017 to at least January 2019.
Investigators say Jean-Pierre promised investors that they would become millionaires if they helped him fund projects in Haiti. He’s accused of duping investors into footing the bill for his lifestyle, including trips to the Caribbean, stays at hotels and outings at restaurants.
Jean-Pierre, however, isn’t the only person facing charges in connection to the scheme. Investigators say Edy Durosier, the 50-year-old manager of Advantage Realty & Investment Group, was in cahoots with Jean-Pierre.
South Florida, known as the nation’s con capital for its healthcare, income-tax and credit-card scams, has also become home to “affinity fraud.” These schemes prey on unsuspecting immigrants and other minorities who tend to trust the perpetrators because they either know them or someone else who vouches for them.
In 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Brothers Investment with operating an affinity fraud targeting the Haitian American community.
According to an arrest warrant, Jean-Pierre, the manager and president of Brothers Investment Group LLC, received hundreds of thousands of dollars from investors by “offering fraudulent investment opportunities.” He hosted information sessions across South Florida in which he vowed to use money from prospective investors to fund projects in various sectors in Haiti.
Durosier, the warrant says, was tasked as the leader of the Brothers Investment’s “real estate group.” Several of the duped investors said Durosier also solicited funds at the meetings, one time saying he needed to gather $365,000 to secure a $3.6 million loan to invest in real estate, agriculture and energy projects.
The company, according to the warrant, also sold bogus “foreign diplomatic” classes for $600. Clients were told that after completing the course, they would be recognized as “highly ranked representatives” of Brothers Investment and would obtain special privileges when traveling internationally.
Among Jean-Pierre’s “false promises and misrepresentations:” Investors would become millionaires within a few years through the shared profits from Brothers Investment’s projects.
According to the arrest warrant, no fund were used in a single revenue-generating project. Victims were routinely told their money was in the bank when, in reality, Jean-Pierre and Durosier had spent it, investigators allege.
How did they fleece investors out of thousands?
Investigators say Jean-Pierre held info sessions at churches and business buildings. One of the investors said he gained the trust of their family because they were introduced through a church member.
The warrant notes Jean-Pierre asked one of the victims to apply for loans totaling almost $22,000 for a limousine business to “do good by the investors.” The investor did what Jean-Pierre said, but he ultimately stopped paying them back.
Durosier claimed he had developed a renewable energy device capable of providing solar energy and internet services in Haiti, according to investigators. On another occasion, he said the solar power technology was developed at “Florida International University North campus.”
At other meetings, Durosier said he sought to use investors’ funds to purchase land in Haiti to grow and export tomatoes, according to investigators.
Durosier, too, is accused of enriching himself with the funds, according to the warrant. Investigators say he also falsely claimed that he was a lawyer, a professor at St. Thomas and had a law firm in North Miami Beach.
A LinkedIn profile under the same name indicates Durosier is a lawyer and graduated from St. Thomas University School of Law in 2009. Though his name doesn’t appear in a search on the Florida Bar’s database of attorneys.
Jean-Pierre is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correction Center with his bond set at $730,000. Durosier isn’t currently in custody, according to jail records in Miami-Dade and Broward.
What charges do they face?
▪ One count of racketeering;
▪ One count of money laundering;
▪ One count of organized scheme to defraud in an amount of $50,000 or greater;
▪ Eight counts of organized scheme to defraud in an amount between $20,000 and $50,000;
▪ One count of grand theft;
▪ Nineteen counts of grand theft;
▪ Nine counts of engaging in fraudulent security transactions;
▪ One count of engaging in fraudulent security transactions with more than $50,000 from five or more people.
