MIAMI – A 72-year-old Southwest Miami-Dade man is speaking out after a contractor is busted for exploiting the elderly and taking $14,000 from him and two other victims.
Miami-Dade Police say the work was never done and say the suspect in this case has confessed that there are 9 other victims as well. Police say many of those who have been targeted are elderly.
They say 61-year-old Omar Ramiro Lopez of Palmetto Bay entered into contracts with multiple elderly victims to install outdoor fencing and claimed he was a licensed contractor with his company Horizon Structural Developers and failed to do the work and refund money to his victims and did not return their texts or phone calls.
Miami-Dade Police Detective Geordi Estepan said, “He’s pretending to be a licensed contractor when he really isn’t. He is targeting elderly victims. He is promising to do fences and takes deposits and does not do the work. He has confessed that there are 9 more victims. That is a lot of people and we believe there are even more out there.”
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Lopez faces charges including an organized scheme to defraud, theft from the elderly, 3rd-degree grand theft and exploitation of the elderly.
Brian Domineck, 72, told CBS News MIami’s Peter D’Oench that he gave Lopez a $6200 deposit through 2 checks for a 300-foot chain-link fence to be built at his Southwest Miami-Dade home for $10,432 and no work was done and he has lost all of his money.
Domineck, an Air Force veteran of 11 years who retired after spending 35 years with Miami-Dade Public Schools, said he is discouraged and does not know if he will ever be able to have that chain link fence built.
Domineck said, “I paid him $6200 and checked him out online and saw he had 5 stars. When he first got to my house in May, he was talking like he was the best and would take care of everything. He had quite a scam going. He even talked to us about his family and his church. But he never did any work. He came out and did measurements and that was it. It all started in May. I even went to where his company was supposed to be. I called him and he didn’t return calls.”
Domineck said, “I feel bad. I really feel bad. It is like he used me. I really can’t afford to give away $6200. I think he really took advantage of us. I am retired. I am retired for 6 years. I wanted to do something to make a better home. Let us do that. Don’t take our money.”
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Authorities urge you to check out a company’s reviews and reputation online and check sources like Florida Sun Biz.
Domineck said, “I tried my best to check up on him and I thought I did everything. I thought he was the man for the job and it just goes to show you that you never can tell.”
MIami-Dade Police believe there are other victims.
If you are one of them, contact their Economic Crimes Unit at (305) 994-1000.
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Peter D’Oench
Peter D’Oench is a reporter for CBS4 News. He came to CBS4 from WKRN in Nashville.
Christmas Wonderland throws big ‘Noche Buena’ party in Miami-Dade
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — There is a park — that aims to please both adrenaline junkies and fans of colorful lights — open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Miami-Dade County.
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There is a special for four tickets for about $100 on the “Noche Buena Party” in Miami-Dade’s Westchester neighborhood.
Admission includes unlimited rides from 4 p.m. to midnight at Tropical Park, at 7900 SW 40 St.
The Local 10 News Weather Authority meteorologists don’t expect rain on Wednesday night in the area. The probability of rain on Thursday is low.
For more information and tickets, visit this page.
More on Christmas in Miami-Dade
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Local 10 News Afternoon Weather Edition: 12/24/25
Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.
Magdala Louissaint
Magdala Louissaint joined WPLG in August 2025 and is thrilled to call South Florida home.
Andrea Torres
The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.
Doug Myers is a digital content producer for CBS Texas. A longtime journalist, Doug has worked for four newspapers in Texas and Louisiana and for three television stations in Texas. He has also spent time as a digital content manager for a national trade association and as communications director for a state agency.
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A London‑bound passenger was arrested Monday at Miami International Airport after federal officers found more than 130 pounds of vacuum‑sealed marijuana – 60 bundles in all – packed into two suitcases, authorities said.
Begum Mulazimoglu, 22, of London, is facing a first‑degree felony charge of trafficking in cannabis after she was taken into custody before boarding a Virgin Atlantic flight to Heathrow Airport, according to an arrest affidavit. Mulazimoglu appeared before a judge on Tuesday.
Suitcases flagged during outbound check
Begum Mulazimoglu, 22.
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Miami-Dade Corrections
The Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office said a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer flagged two hardsided suitcases during an outbound inspection after detecting a strong odor of marijuana.
According to authorities, Mulazimoglu claimed ownership of the bags and had about $1,000 worth of U.S. and British currency – $330 in U.S. dollars and £530 in British pounds (about $713 USD) – in her possession.
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Affidavit details marijuana discovery
An arrest affidavit said Homeland Security Investigations notified the Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office after the passenger was detained with the two marijuana-stuffed suitcases at the airport.
An X‑ray scan revealed 60 bundles, 30 in each suitcase, weighing a combined 59.74 kilograms (131.7 pounds), along with two Apple AirTags hidden inside, the affidavit said. The bundles were sealed in black nylon vacuum‑packed bags.
Federal prosecution declined
An Assistant United States Attorney declined federal prosecution, according to the affidavit.
The Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office was notified, and Mulazimoglu was provided a meal before being taken into custody and transported to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
The property was impounded at Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office headquarters.
Item 1 of 5 A resident stands in an apartment building damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 23, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
[1/5]A resident stands in an apartment building damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 23, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
Broad Russian attack follows Miami peace talks
Ukraine says western regions hit hardest
At least three killed, including child, Kyiv says
Poland scrambles jets
KYIV, Dec 23 (Reuters) – Russian missile and drone attacks killed at least three Ukrainians including a child on Tuesday, triggering widespread emergency power cuts and prompting neighbouring Poland to scramble jets.
The attacks, days after another round of U.S.-led talks to end the nearly four-year-old war, hit energy facilities in western regions the hardest, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.
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Poland, a NATO member bordering western Ukraine, said Polish and allied aircraft were deployed to protect Polish airspace after Russian strikes targeted areas near the border.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had targeted at least 13 regions as Ukrainians prepared to celebrate Christmas with their families in an attack that showed Russian President Vladimir Putin was not serious about peace talks.
“Putin still cannot accept that he must stop killing,” Zelenskiy wrote on X. “And that means that the world is not putting enough pressure on Russia. Now is the time to respond.”
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YOUNG CHILD KILLED
A four-year-old child was killed in the central Zhytomyr region, another person in Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine and a third person outside the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where local officials said at least five were also wounded.
Russia’s defence ministry said it had attacked Ukrainian energy and military facilities and captured two villages along the front line in Ukraine. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv, which often disputes Russian reports of territorial gains.
Moscow has stepped up strikes on Ukrainian energy and logistics to boost pressure on Kyiv as it seeks to alter the terms of a U.S.-backed peace deal. Ukraine has targeted Russian energy exports.
A Ukrainian overnight drone attack sparked a fire at an industrial facility in Russia’s southern Stavropol region, the region’s governor, Vladimir Vladimirov, said. Authorities also reported a fire at the fuel oil supply pipeline at the port of Taman in Krasnodar region, saying it had been put out.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 635 drones and 38 missiles, most of which had been downed.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said all regions were experiencing emergency power outages, adding that nearly all consumers in the western Rivne, Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi regions were without power early on Tuesday.
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Critical and energy infrastructure was damaged in the northern Chernihiv, western Lviv and southern Odesa regions, local authorities said. Private energy firm DTEK said one of its thermal power plants had suffered damage.
Weekend peace talks in Miami brought together U.S. officials with Ukrainian and European delegations, alongside separate contacts with Russian representatives, as Washington tested the scope for a settlement.
Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede its eastern Donbas region and significantly restrict its military capabilities before it stops fighting, terms which Zelenskiy has rejected.
Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Dan Peleschuk; Writing by Lidia Kelly and Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Michael Perry, Philippa Fletcher
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