LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Families across Lee County are feeling lost and frustrated after trusting Black Wolf Homes, a Fort Myers company specializing in manufactured homes. Many paid large sums of money, hoping to rebuild after Hurricane Ian or to start anew, but their homes were never built.
WATCH PART 1 OF THE INVESTIGATION AS FOX 4'S ANVAR RUZIEV LISTENS TO THE FAMILIES RECALLING THEIR DEAL WITH BLACK WOLF HOMES:
WATCH PART 2 OF THE INVESTIGATION WHERE FOX 4'S ANVAR RUZIEV CONFRONTS BLACK WOLF EMPLOYEES TO GET THEIR CUSTOMERS ANSWERS:
Greg and Zhanna Lazarev from Iona lost their mobile home to Hurricane Ian. Desperate to rebuild, they believed Black Wolf Homes was the perfect solution.
"When he told us that in eight months, he could guarantee that we would move into our brand new home, that was flood protected, you could never be damaged by flooding ever again. You can imagine how much of a relief, to us, he was God, something sent from the sky, I mean, that's it, that's all our answers," they said.
Two years later, their lot remains empty. The Lazarevs say they paid Black Wolf about $140,000, but the company never gave the money to the mobile home manufacturer.
"They said that the money was going to be sent tomorrow, that's why I released the money, to this date the manufacturer never received the money," they explained.
On Pine Island, Brenda and Walter Falk share a similar story. It took them nearly eight months to find out Black Wolf never sent their money to the manufacturer. They hired a new contractor, and things moved quickly.
"It just went into production today," they said. When asked how long it took, they replied:
"A day? It's going to take 4-5 weeks to build, but he came here this week and we gave him a deposit and he sent it in, and it's already started."
To pay for the second build, Walt and Brenda had to come out of retirement.
"We went back to work, we had to go back to work now because now we lost all that money, and now we have to pay again for somebody to come out and do—it's like we're paying for the house twice," they said.
In North Fort Myers, Joe Papini found his home partially built but far from complete. Nearly a year after he paid for it, the house still has no electricity, plumbing, or even stairs.
"I should be retiring soon, and living comfortably in a home. I'm going to have to come up with all the money again, I don't have it. Me and my son will both be homeless on the streets, thank you Black Wolf," he said.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Black Wolf Homes is under a fraud investigation.
Court documents reveal that Black Wolf filed for bankruptcy in August, making customers like the Lazarevs feel like they'll never see their money again.
"We weren't building a retirement mansion, that we were going to visit once a year, this was our permanent home that we lost. We paid with our savings that we saved for that home and that's it, it's gone," the Lazarevs said.
On top of everything else, a mobile home corporation called Homes of America is suing Black Wolf for nearly $9 million. The lawsuit claims that Black Wolf promised to deliver 240 used mobile homes but only delivered 29. It also alleges that after owner Steven Game received the money, he and his wife Trista Carter used her company, GC Properties of Arcadia, to buy nearly $7 million worth of real estate.
When I went to the Black Wolf Homes office to get answers, a man greeted me at the door, saying he didn't work for the company and that an employee inside wouldn't come out to talk.
I eventually spoke to the employee inside. Her name is Lana Dargai, and she says Black Wolf is working to get everyone their money back. When I looked into her background, I found she was arrested in 2015 on charges of fraud and larceny. The Florida Department of Financial Services says she stole more than $700,000 intended for real estate transactions.
Through Dargai, I was able to contact Black Wolf owner, Steven Game. He didn't want to speak with me but referred me to his attorney, Justin Luna, who told me over the phone:
"If they're looking for a refund, we are working with our other creditors in the bank, to develop a plan of reorganization, that seeks to pay them, their refunded amount, however we do have to go through the proper bankruptcy channels and procedures to get that plan approved."
Bankruptcy paperwork shows Black Wolf owes more than $11 million in unsecured claims. The largest is for Homes of America for nearly $9 million.
People in Lee County say Black Wolf continued to take on new customers. The Hernandez family in Bonita Springs say they paid the company to build their first home, but it's just sitting unfinished.
"It's hard for us because we have four kids, they ride by on the bus home from school, they see their house and they get upset, cause at first it was exciting they're like 'Oh that's my house!' and it's still just sitting here and they're like what's going on? So it's, it's really hard," said Shenna Presnell and William Hernandez.
Over in Lehigh Acres, Sean Filiault and his wife have a similar story. He says they paid Black Wolf about $24,000 as a deposit nearly two years ago, and they have nothing to show for it.
"I don't think I'll ever see my money back, but I'm a firm believer, I think in some way shape or form karma will find its way back around," he said.
The Florida Attorney General's Office also said they have received eight complaints about Black Wolf Homes since January.
Fox 4 will continue to investigate and bring you more updates as the story develops.
