Texas Man Who Vanished in 2023 Charged in Elaborate Fraud Conspiracy

A 39-year-old businessman from Houston, Texas who vanished last year is now facing up to 20 years in federal prison.

In June 2023, the family of Brett Michael Detamore made a public plea for the community's help in locating the missing father of three. He had been last seen near his home in West University at 4:30 am on June 21 .

Two short hours later, a 911 call was made from Bear Creek Park, 20 miles west. In the call, a bystander reported seeing a bright yellow Dodge Ram with personalized plates fully engulfed in flames. The burning truck would later be confirmed as the now-missing Detamore's.

A Sudden Disappearance, A Mysterious Reappearance

With that information, authorities declared Detamore a missing person. Over the next two days, police and volunteers from Equusearch conducted a ground search of Bear Creek Park's 2,000 acres while battling high temperatures. The search proved fruitless.

Ultimately, three days after his disappearance, Detamore "emailed his wife and revealed his whereabouts". Police found him at a bus stop in San Antonio in a disheveled state.

While Detamore had been safely found, the initial investigation into his disappearance had roused the suspicion of authorities.

Lawsuits, "Lavish Spending", and License Plates

Police had discovered that just days before Detamore's disappearance, a lawsuit had been filed against him and his company by multiple plaintiffs in Kings County, New York for defaulting on cash advances.

Brett Detamore is the owner of Detamore Development, a home building and remodeling company.

In October, two new lawsuits were filed in Harris County. The allegations for these suits also involved the misuse of cash advances intended to purchase of building materials.

Instead, Detamore is said to have used the money to fund a "lavish lifestyle" of sporting events, concerts and vacations. An attorney for one of the Harris county plaintiffs told KPRC 2 that the builder is alleged to have created fake invoices to cover up his spending.

Documents filed with the court claim that Detamore not only concealed his misuse of the money, he took pride in bamboozling his victims. As proof, attorneys pointed to an personalized license plate on the family Cadillac Escalade that read "HIDEIT"

Federal agents took over the investigation in November 2023.

Federal Charges Filed

On August 2, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas announced they had filed a criminal information against Brett Michael Detamore on a charge of wire fraud.

The charge stems from the alleged fraudulent invoices crafted by Detamore. The phony documents were used to facilitate the transfer of bank funds into an account wherein he used said funds for personal benefit--a federal offense.

He is said to have fraudulently obtained $1.5 million (intended for building private homes) for his personal use in this manner.

The Houston developer appeared in court on August 12. Detamore faces up to 20 years in federal prison and $250,000 maximum fine along with full restitution.