Condo Crook Caged for 40 Years After Stealing Elderly Woman’s $700K Florida Paradise!
A ruthless scammer tried to snatch a luxury condo from an 85-year-old woman—but now he’s paying the price with a 40-year prison sentence! 😱 #News #Florida #Crime
Fraudster Sentenced for Shamelessly Scamming Senior!
PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL – A Florida man was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison for using false document to fraudulently take ownership of a condo belonging to an elderly woman and her two daughters, officials said.
Olandis Dean Hobbs, also known as “Genesis Bey,” 37, was found guilty earlier this month of grand theft over $100,000, fraudulent use of personal identification information, both felonies, as well as unlawful filing of false documents or records against real property, uttering a forgery, and forgery, the State Attorney’s Office for the 14th Judicial Circuit announced.
The jury took just 35 minutes to return the guilty verdicts.
“This defendant is a squatter on steroids,” Prosecutor Josh James told jurors. “He didn’t move into a vacant building; he created fraudulent documents and illegally claimed a condominium worth hundreds of thousands of dollars as his own.”
The condo in Panama City Beach is owned by an 85-year-old woman and her two daughters through an LLC. Hobbs filed fraudulent paperwork with the Clerk of Circuit Court transferring ownership of the condo to himself in late 2022.
The women, who live out of state, only learned of his theft when they sent a maid to clean ahead of some friends staying at the condo, and found the locks had been changed.
Panama City Beach Police served a search warrant on Jan. 13, 2023, and arrested Hobbs, who had barricaded himself inside.
Despite remaining incarcerated since his arrest, Hobbs remained the listed owner of the property pending the outcome of both civil and criminal cases. But the true owners had to continue paying HOA fees and property taxes to keep the unit safe during that time.
The true owners were also unable to insure the property while it was not in their name.
“Because of this con artist’s ongoing behavior, the victims were not just deprived of their right to enjoy their property for more than 18 months, they were put at risk,” James said.
“Despite the emotional trauma of having their property stolen by a fraudster, they remained dedicated to seeing justice served and cooperated with us fully.”
James also pointed out that Hobbs had engaged in similar frauds in other places, including New York, “and was sued but never arrested.”
The victims said they were happy with the sentence imposed on Hobbs.
“We counted on the justice system and it came through for us and we’re very happy with that,” one unnamed victim said in a statement.
“I hope this sends a strong message,” State Attorney Larry Basford said. “Do not come to Northwest Florida and try to steal people’s identification and/or property by squatting because we will not tolerate this.”
Written by TMX staff, with additional reporting by Jack and Kitty Norton.
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