Alleged Crime & Real Estate

Council Member Casts Doubt on Dallas City Hall Report, Citing Past AECOM Settlement

By Charles Grand / March 27, 2026 /

In a sign that tensions may continue to rise as officials debate whether to relocate Dallas City Hall, a city council member is pointing to a past legal settlement involving AECOM, the firm that helped produce the building’s property condition assessment. Council Member Cara Mendelsohn (District 12) shared yesterday a 2023 Dallas Morning News article…

Deep Ellum Landlords Throw Down Over Rowdy Venue

By Charles Grand / August 10, 2025 /

Frustration over criminal activity and quality of life issues in Deep Ellum has been boiling over, and one nightlife hotspot seems to be getting all the heat. Rodeo Dallas, a nightclub at Elm and N Crowdus, has earned the ire of city officials and neighborhood stakeholders for purportedly fostering “dangerous and unlawful conduct.” In the…

Dallas Bribery Scandal Ends in Acquittal for Previously Convicted Developer

By Charles Grand / June 13, 2025 /

An infamous local affordable housing developer previously convicted on federal bribery charges secured an acquittal in his retrial on Thursday, with jurors siding with the defense’s argument that the defendant didn’t break federal law when he paid two Dallas City Council members tens of thousands of dollars. Ruel Hamilton, who until his indictment was best…

D-FW House Flipping Ponzi Scheme Gets Exposed

By CandysDirt / May 19, 2025 /

By now, everyone’s seen a “We Buy Ugly Houses” sign somewhere at least once. You might’ve even called the advertised phone number to see if you could get a good offer on your house, ugly or not. The branding is part of HomeVestors of America’s house-flipping operation. Based in Dallas, the company franchises out to…

Deepfake Deception: How AI Is Fueling Sophisticated Real Estate Scams

By Charles Grand / January 30, 2025 /

Anyone keeping up with the news in recent years knows the AI revolution is plowing forward full steam ahead, but unfortunately, some bad actors have been leveraging the rapidly evolving technology to pull off sophisticated real estate scams. The latest? Using “deepfake” face swap technology to pull off their heists. In recognition of Identity Theft…