A Marco Island man who detectives say posed as a billionaire and a real estate tycoon has been arrested on charges he defrauded three people in separate real estate deals in Collier County.Douglas Lee Carter, 63, 1100 Dana Court, was arrested Tuesday on a felony warrant charging him with scheming to defraud over $50,000.
Carter was already being held in the jail on $30,000 bond stemming from his July 16 arrest on unrelated worthless check charges when deputies served him with the warrant Tuesday.
A judge set Carter’s bond at $150,000 on the new charges during a court hearing Wednesday, bringing his total bonds to $180,000.
Detectives say the latest charges against Carter stem from a scheme spanning from Dec. 5, 2005, to May 15, 2008.
They say Carter purchased six homes in Collier from the three victims. Using the real estate market as leverage, detectives say Carter asked the victims to provide him with cash at closing to finance other deals. In exchange for their money, he issued them second and third mortgages.
Carter told them he needed the money to purchase other properties and they would be earning interest on their money. Carter took the proceeds, but never paid the victims.
The only attempts to pay the victims were with worthless checks. Detectives said he issued $680,000 in worthless checks to the victims.
Further investigation by detectives revealed that Carter did not have the funds to cover the checks.
