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Man Suspected Of Stealing, Reselling Homes Freed From Jail

DENVER (CBS4)- A man charged with stealing homes that are vacant or under foreclosure and then reselling them has been freed from jail.

Alfonso Carrillo is believed to be at the center of the home stealing scam, accused of theft and forgery and felony racketeering.

Carrillo is a free man after the Denver District Attorney's Office "inadvertently" failed to turn in 15 boxes of evidence in the case.

"This was an unfortunate oversight," said Denver DA spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough.

She said the boxes of evidence were placed in different areas under the original investigation.

"The new investigator was not aware there had been an issue brought up that caused us to separate the material in the case," said Kimbrough.

After the additional evidence was introduced the judge then ordered Carrillo's trial delayed and his bond drastically reduced, which allowed his release after six months behind bars.

Prosecutors also revealed in court that more than 150 homes along the Front Range and into the High Country may be involved in Carrillo's scam.

Carrillo is accused of illegally taking possession of homes then selling them to unsuspecting buyers, often illegal immigrants unfamiliar with the process of buying a home.

It was August 2011 when investigators raided Carrillo's office. They seized records of his company America's Home Retention Services.

Carrillo was scheduled to go on trial April 1 on charges of racketeering, burglary, theft and trespassing.

"We were informed late last week that there were 15 more boxes of discovery that were going to be made available to us," said Carrillo's attorney Mark Burton.

Burton also said that since his incarceration, Carrillo has been ruined, his wife, also charged in the case, is on food stamps and her health has deteriorated.

Carrillo, Maria from denver da
Maria Carrillo (credit: Denver District Attorney's Office)

Maria Elena Carrillo has been charged with racketeering, forgery and attempting to influence a public servant. She is one of three people accused in the scheme.

She is specifically accused of taking thousands of dollars for a home in Commerce City that she didn't own.

A third man charged in the scheme, Rudy Breda, is still at large after being indicted last year.

Breda-Rudy
Rudy Breda (credit: Denver DA)
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