Detectives have arrested David Lee Ortiz for multiple counts of Criminal Use of Personal Identification, Unlicensed Real Estate Sales Associate, Grand Theft, and Organized Scheme to Defraud.
Ortiz impersonated a former colleague of his, a legitimate realtor named Tony Centrone of Vero Beach, by using his identity. He created fictitious online real estate for rent ads on Craigslist.org and Zillow.com. Persons wanting to rent these homes would see the properties and meet with Ortiz, aka: TONY CENTRONE, who would request cash and money order payments for deposits and H.O.A. fees. He also had the victim’s complete applications including all of their personal information which he later used in identity theft crimes.
Because Ortiz created such a large quantity of ads, detectives suspect there are additional victims.
If you had an encounter with David Lee Ortiz, aka: Tony Centrone, and believe your were a victim of Identity Theft, Scheme to Defraud, and/or Grand Theft, please contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS.