People who gave Atlanta real estate investor money say they are out tens of thousands of dollars

ATLANTA — They invested with who they believed was an Atlanta real estate pro, but don’t know what happened to their money.

Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray talked to multiple investors who have similar stories.

“There’s an opportunity for everyone to come in and make a 100, 150, maybe 200 grand over the next 18 months just by flipping properties,” said Duron Dimmock in a cell phone video.

Ben Lee recorded parts of Dimmock’s real estate pitch on base at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.

“I was really impressed by what he was saying. I mean, he was really good,” said Lee.

“The market is crazy,” said Dimmock in a cell phone video.

As Lee was preparing to leave the army, the investment opportunity sounded enticing.

“I just took a leap of faith,” said Lee.

He paid a $5,000 coaching fee to get started and invested another $15,000. But you don’t have to go to one of Dimmock’s in-person presentations.

“The problem is you’re complacent. And you’re okay with where you are in life,” said Dimmock in a video posted on Instagram.

The Atlanta real estate investor also pitches on social media.

“He knows how to talk,” said Daphne Bonilla.

She first met Dimmock on an Atlanta movie set. She invested $20,000 with him.

“So, the agreement was that I would get a minimum of 20% of my investment within 90 days after the commencement of this project,” said Bonilla.

“I knew Duron from high school,” said Zuri Farngalo.

Zuri and his wife Eartha Petersen Farngalo were living in New York but turned to Dimmock because they wanted to flip houses in Atlanta.

“We really leapt at this opportunity. For someone who presented themselves as an expert in this area, to be able to do that from afar,” said Eartha Petersen Farngalo.

“You gave him $30,000. What do you have to show for it?” asked Justin Gray.

“Nothing,” answered Petersen Farngalo.

The Farngalos, Ben Lee and Daphne Bonilla all had similar reasons for wanting to invest, and all are in a similar spot now.

“I was in communication with him and his assistant for the whole time until he stopped responding,” said Lee.

“He started sort of ghosting me. He stopped answering. He would make excuses,” said Bonilla.

“We never saw a property. We never got any details,” said Petersen Farngalo.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, everything is in,” said Duron Dimmock during a Zoom interview as he checked in on work at an Atlanta property he is renovating.

“You can’t have the success that I have, you can’t accomplish the things that I have accomplished by stealing from people. You can’t,” said Dimmock.

He said skyrocketing interest rates and inflation changed the business overnight as these investors were looking for a quick return.

“Materials went up, things went up. It just happened. I almost lost everything,” said Dimmock.

He showed Gray his contract that states right at the top “client understands that the real estate market may change unexpectedly, rendering some of the information provided by the consultant null and void.”

“People who invest and want the quick return, they don’t, they didn’t, they don’t understand that process,” said Dimmock.

The Farngalos don’t buy that argument.

Their attorney said $10,000 of what they are fighting for was a wire transfer for their initial investment Dimmock wanted faster, so they sent a second time through Venmo.

“You send it to me that way. It’s going to take too long. Send it to me the faster digital method and I’ll return the wire transfer to you. And it just never happened,” said attorney Tashia Zeigler.

“Do you owe them $10,000? Does somebody owe them $10,000?” Justin Gray asked Dimmock.

“GWP owes them $10,000. Yes,” answered Dimmock.

Dimmock claimed it is the LLC GWP Consulting that owes the money, not him. His company is GWP Holdings. Both companies are listed as dissolved on the Secretary of State registry.

Dimmock said Daphne Bonilla’s money is still invested in a project that isn’t completed.

“The only remedy is I just need just give me a little bit more time. I can get it worked out,” said Dimmock.

As for Ben Lee, “I’ll tell you straight up, Ben Lee is an honest guy. Ben Lee is going to be made whole,” said Dimmock.

Lee said he’s heard that before.

“They gave me all of these dates saying that I would get a payment, to do payment arrangements. But every time the day would come, nobody would answer,” said Lee.

“We certainly don’t have a property. I think that’s the most hurtful part of this right? This is $30,000 that we could have invested in the market. We could have invested in an actual property,” said Petersen Farngalo.

Dimmock claimed the Farngalos backed out of three projects and lost earnest money because of it.

In a default judgment, a Cobb County court ordered GWP Consulting to pay the Farngalos $30,000 plus attorney fees.

They have not seen a dime of that money. They are suing Duron Dimmock directly as well.

That case is still open, as well as separate lawsuits by Ben Lee and Daphne Bonilla.