A 73-year-old man is facing multiple felony charges after Miami-Dade investigators say he used his decades-long relationship with an elderly, cognitively impaired woman to seize half ownership of her Tamiami townhome, marry her, and pocket thousands of dollars in rental income while she was legally declared unable to manage her own affairs.
Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Andres Perez on Thursday, September 3, at 7:25 a.m. at the Horizons West complex on SW 133rd Avenue in Kendale Lakes, booking him into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center at 11:10 a.m., according to Local 10. He faces charges including exploitation of an elderly or disabled person, organized scheme to defraud, and first-degree grand theft, according to WSVN. Perez knew the victim for more than 20 years before the alleged scheme unfolded, per that report.
The case centers on a quitclaim deed that transferred half ownership of the woman's Villa Venezia townhome, at 1331 SW 124th Court, to Perez in May 2022 — while a court was actively determining whether she was competent enough to manage her own affairs. County recorder records show the woman had owned the home since 1987, after inheriting it from her brother, the same outlet reports. Just weeks later, on June 7, 2022, a court declared her totally incapacitated and incapable of exercising her own rights. Perez and the woman married later that same month.
Dementia Diagnosis Raises Questions About Capacity
An arrest report cited by Local 10 details that the woman had been diagnosed with severe vascular dementia of the Alzheimer's type, along with poor memory, an anxiety disorder, and poor hearing. Investigators allege Perez was aware of her medical condition throughout the property dealings, according to WSVN. The Florida Department of Children and Families verified in October 2022, per the arrest report, that the woman had in fact been exploited — yet Perez was not taken into custody until nearly four years later.
The townhome was valued at approximately $420,000 at the time of the 2022 deed transfer, and Perez's alleged half-stake is worth about $210,000, WSVN reports. During that period, Perez also moved into the woman's home and allegedly collected roughly $17,600 in rent from a tenant living in an efficiency unit attached to the property, according to the same account.
Aborted Sale Listing Involved Perez's Grandson
At one point, the home was listed for sale by a real estate company owned by Perez's grandson, WSVN reports. The listing was later pulled after the woman said she did not want to sell her home. It's unclear from available records what prompted the listing or how the sale attempt factored into the broader investigation.
Perez appeared in bond court Friday, where Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez found probable cause and set his bond at $35,000, according to Local 10. The bond includes a Nebbia hold.
Felony Exposure Under Florida Elder Abuse Law
Under Florida Statute § 825.103, financial exploitation of an elderly or disabled adult involving assets of $50,000 or more is a first-degree felony carrying up to 30 years in state prison, according to StechLaw Criminal Defense's summary of the statute. Separately, Florida's grand theft statute, § 812.014, classifies theft of property valued at $100,000 or more as a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years and a $10,000 fine, per the Law Office of Leanna J. Smith. Prosecutors often pair the two charges together in cases involving high-value real estate.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office runs a dedicated Elder and Vulnerable Adult Exploitation Unit that works with Adult Protective Services and local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute financial crimes against seniors, according to the Office of the Miami-Dade State Attorney. Florida ranked second nationwide for 2025 senior financial fraud losses, with 17,147 victims and more than $709 million in reported losses, according to a 2026 Florida Senate legislative analysis citing FBI data. Seniors make up roughly 21 percent of the state's population, per that same analysis.
Part of a Wider Pattern in Miami-Dade
The case echoes several other elder exploitation prosecutions Hoodline has tracked in Miami-Dade this year, including an El Portal man's 20-year sentence for a similar scheme targeting a 94-year-old woman, as well as a Hialeah case involving a daughter accused of selling her mother's home. It remains unclear why roughly four years passed between DCF's October 2022 verification of exploitation and Perez's arrest this week, and it is not known whether civil proceedings have been filed to void the 2022 quitclaim deed.
