Miami-Dade County has a predator on its streets, masquerading as a contractor, swindling seniors left and right—Omar Ramiro Lopez, age 61, stands accused of thieving over $13,000 from his elderly prey, fraudulently promising them fencing services that never materialized, as reported by NBC Miami. A sham contractor, Lopez, hailing from Palmetto Bay, is currently out on bond, but the cuffs on his wrists spell out multiple charges: grand theft, organized scheme to defraud, elder exploitation, and last but not least, contracting sans license.
According to the Miami-Dade Police, and as detailed by Local 10 News, our fraudster Lopez—whose day job listed as Uber driver—entered contracts with victims in Cutler Bay and the unincorporated areas of the county back in May, tricking them with the guise of his shady business "Horizon Structural Developers," and while he took their money, no fences ever rose from the ground, not a single permit was pulled this was a con from the get-go.
In a revealing twist, Local 10 News reports that the Horizon was not merely shaky but completely non-existent in the state’s contractor licensing system; Lopez had been playing a risky game, misusing another contractor’s license information sans permission, and it’s a gamble that's surely cost him now. Arrested on January 10, the net cast around Lopez tightens as authorities uncovered, during his questioning, his admission—yes, an admission—to potentially duping around nine more individuals.
Detective Geordi Estepan, a name not soon forgotten by Lopez, spoken of in Miami-Dade Police Department circles, told Local 10 News, "During his interview, he confessed that he had possibly done this to about nine more people," and with this, the floodgates open—the police are now sounding the siren for more victims to step forward, to call them at 305-994-1000, justice might just be on the horizon for the seniors preyed upon by Omar Ramiro Lopez.
