HOLLYWOOD, Florida — Four people, including the two men who lead a Miami-based home-buying company called Cash4Keys, have been arrested on a combined 15 criminal charges in a case investigators describe as the alleged theft of a home from a 71-year-old Hollywood man living with dementia. Officials announced the arrests on Monday, October 26, 2026, after an investigation by the Hollywood Police Department and the Crimes Against Property Unit of the Broward County Property Appraiser's office.
Source: The Real Deal, reporting the Broward County Property Appraiser's news release
According to the Property Appraiser's news release, the man had lived in his Hollywood home for more than 25 years. Investigators allege the group obtained his signature on a power of attorney and a warranty deed that he did not understand because of dementia and cognitive impairment, and that a false notarization helped transfer the property to Cash4Keys South Florida, a company controlled by the two lead defendants. Officials valued the home at about $300,000 and said it sold for $191,000.
Source: Broward reporting on the Hollywood Police and Property Appraiser investigation
Who has been charged
Brandon Lee Miguel, 25, and Jordy Luis Perez, 25, who lead Cash4Keys, were arrested in Miami-Dade County. Each faces six counts, according to officials: an organized scheme to defraud of $50,000 or more, grand theft exceeding $100,000, unlawful filing of false documents affecting real property, mortgage fraud, exploitation of an elderly person, and money laundering.
Monica Elizabeth Castelli, 56, a real estate agent from Margate with United Realty Group, faces two counts — kidnapping with intent to facilitate a felony, and exploitation of an elderly person. Derek Enrique, 43, a notary from Tamarac, faces one count of false or fraudulent acknowledgments. All four are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court, and the charges are allegations at this stage.
Removed from his home, belongings reported missing
Investigators allege Miguel and Perez arranged for Castelli to remove the man from his Hollywood home and drop him at what officials called a dilapidated rooming house in Miami Gardens, where he was abandoned. Cuba Headlines, reporting on the same official account, said the man was later found distressed and was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where hospital staff notified a family member.
After the man was removed, officials say, the group entered the home and emptied it. His personal belongings, including three vehicles, were subsequently reported missing. As of Monday's announcement, Cash4Keys still controlled the property, and the man's family had hired an attorney to try to recover the home.
How the case began — and the wider pattern
The investigation began after a family member contacted Hollywood police, questioning the man's declining mental condition and the transfer of the home. That single family check is what brought the transfer under official scrutiny, investigators said.
The Real Deal noted this is not an isolated pattern in South Florida: a Miami caregiver was accused in 2023 of fraudulently taking a client's real estate by doctoring documents and signatures, and last year another health care aide was accused of exploiting a patient into signing over a $1.1 million home in Plantation. Elder-exploitation cases tied to property documents — powers of attorney, deeds and notarizations — are a recurring concern for Florida officials because a signature obtained from a person who cannot understand it can move a lifetime asset in a single filing.
Many Punjabi and South Asian families in the US hold a parent's or grandparent's home in one elderly person's name. This case shows the documents to guard most carefully: a power of attorney, a deed, and any paper a notary is asked to stamp. A relative who checks a sudden transfer early — as this family did — can be the difference between a recoverable case and a lost home.
What happens next
The four defendants now face prosecution in Broward County on the charges listed above. Court dates and plea positions have not been reported in the sources reviewed for this report. Separately, the victim's family, through its attorney, is seeking the return of the Hollywood home, which officials said remained under Cash4Keys' control at the time of the announcement. Awaaz Punjab will update this story if prosecutors file further charges or a court rules on the property.