South Florida "Surplus Snatcher" Hit With Grand Theft Charge In Alleged Ripoff Of Sale Proceeds Due To Foreclosed Homeowner After Public Auction

In West Palm Beach, Florida, The Palm Beach Post reports:

• A Boynton Beach man who operates a business specializing in recovering unclaimed property and money found $60,000 for a client — then kept the windfall for himself, state investigators say. Richard Brandt, 41, of Woodgrove Harbor Lane in Boynton Beach, has been charged with grand theft by the state Department of Financial Services, two and a half years after his company allegedly convinced a Palm Beach County man that he could recoup tens of thousands of dollars for him.

• Investigators say Brandt was president and director of Above Par Loss Prevention, a company that promised to recoup unclaimed property for its clients. Brandt's company contracted with a Palm Beach County man in 2007 to recover $60,000 in unclaimed foreclosure money he was due from the Palm Beach County Clerk of Court, investigators allege. Under the contract, Brandt would keep 12 percent of the recovered money as a fee and the client would get the rest.

• Brandt recovered the money in April 2008 but didn't turn over any of it to his client, according to an arrest report. The client notified the state Department of Financial Services. When investigators began asking Brandt questions, investigators say he coughed up a fraction of the money. The rest he claimed he didn't have. In the end, investigators charged him with stealing $39,670 from the client.

Source: Boynton Beach man charged with stealing nearly $40,000 of client's recovered money.