WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE, TEXAS – More allegations of theft and fraud are coming to light related to the June disappearance of a West University Place father and developer, according to two new lawsuits filed Wednesday in Harris County.
In the last week, a total of four lawsuits have been filed against 38-year-old Brett Detamore, who was reported missing in June but found alive days later.
The newest lawsuit, filed by a former employee of Detamore’s development company, accuses him of fraud and slander.
“I feel like I was used as a pawn to make him seem like a legitimate builder when he really had no clue what he was doing,” Sergio Moreno told only KPRC 2, who said he feels lied to, taken advantage of, and deceived.
Moreno worked for Detamore as a project manager for 18 months. Earlier this year, Moreno said vendors and subcontractors started complaining to him that they weren’t getting paid.
“It just continued to happen. Eventually, a check would get replaced with a good check, but you’d still have to go through with with a bounced check first,” Moreno said.
He didn’t get paid on time twice, either, he said.
According to his lawsuit, Moreno used his personal credit card to secure materials for Detamore’s home projects when the company card wouldn’t clear.
“Detamore never repaid these funds despite his continued promises to do so,” the lawsuit alleges.
Moreno told KPRC 2 he was loyal to Detamore and tried to do everything to make his business successful, but he got fired “based on fabricated claims of ‘misconduct’,” according to the lawsuit.
Ten days later, Detamore disappeared.
The disappearance grabbed headlines and sparked a days-long search. Detamore’s approximately $100,000 truck was discovered in Bear Creek Park after it went up in flames.
Houston Fire arson investigators determined the fire was “deliberately started” but a spokesperson said Harris County prosecutors declined charges because there was no complainant and the vehicle was paid off.
Days later, investigators said Detamore emailed his wife and they found him at a bus stop in San Antonio.
That’s when his “scheme was ‘burned down’,” according to the first lawsuit filed last week in Harris County.
The suit claimed Detamore faked his disappearance and accused him of defrauding investors and home buyers, instead using money to fund his personal “lavish lifestyle” that included big time sporting events, concerts, and exotic vacations.
Moreno said Detamore took him and other employees to Los Angeles for the Super Bowl. A photo shared with KPRC 2 shows the two of them on the Las Vegas strip.
“My clients, if you ask them, the answers might be different, ranging from we want our money back, to we think he belongs in jail,” attorney Butch Boyd told KPRC 2 after filing the first lawsuit last week.
Boyd now represents Moreno as well, but Moreno’s lawsuit has a distinct difference: it alleges slander as well as fraud and names Detamore’s wife, Ryann Stanley, as a defendant.
“She was saying that I was stealing. She was the one running her mouth to to our friends,” Moreno said. “That killed me because I’m like, as soon as you get a bad name in this business, it’s not good, right?”
The third lawsuit filed by Boyd involves a homebuyer who hired Detamore to build their “dream home.” The job site still appeared to be in disarray and incomplete on Wednesday night.
According to that lawsuit, Detamore stole the money meant to build it to keep up with his “lavish lifestyle.” They accuse him of breach of contract, fraud, statutory fraud in a real estate and stock transaction, conspiracy, and more.
A fourth lawsuit, filed last week, claims his development company ordered supplies for at least three home projects totaling at least $41,415.72 but the bill never got paid.
“Justice for everybody,” Moreno said. “There’s so many more people that have been affected by this. Homeowners, investors, trades ... the list goes on.”
West University Place Police confirmed they are still investigating multiple complaints of fraud involving Detamore on Wednesday night, but declined to share details amid the ongoing criminal investigation.
An attorney for the Detamore family wrote in a statement last week the family is still requesting privacy, as they have since Detamore was found.
“The allegations in the various suits will be answered in due time, and counter-claims and third-party claims filed as necessary. It is unfortunate that so many of the false rumors about this situation have been pleaded in court, and it is especially tragic for the family and young children affected,” the attorney wrote in a statement in response to the new lawsuits filed Wednesday.
KPRC 2′s Bryce Newberry will have more on this story tonight at 10.