New information surrounding estranged husband in case of missing Connecticut woman
New clues in search for Connecticut mother; Trace Gallagher has the details.
In fewer than five years, Fotis Dulos went from being named Connecticut's builder of the year to the brink of bankruptcy, with several lawsuits filed against him and his company the Fore Group. He kept up appearances for the most part, posing as a relaxed, successful businessman despite being sued by his in-laws for nearly $2 million for failing to repay loans keeping his home building business afloat. He claimed the money was a gift. His in-laws disagreed.
It wasn't the first time someone took Fotis Dulos to court - and it would not be the last.
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These days the estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos has traded in his swanky suits for pumpkin-orange prison wear. Fotis Dulos, 51, has been behind bars at the Bridgeport Correctional Center since Saturday night, unable to post $500,000 bond. Dulos and his girlfriend Michelle Troconis, 44, were arrested over the weekend and arraigned Monday on charges of tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution related to the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five. Troconis bonded out but Fotis Dulos couldn't come up with the cash.
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Some say that's understandable given his questionable finances.
Fotis Dulos and his company, the Fore Group, have been the subject of complaints and lawsuits multiple times over the years. Some rulings have gone his way while others have not.
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A few days before Jennifer Dulos was last seen, a woman complained to the Better Business Bureau of Connecticut that Fotis Dulos took an unspecified deposit toward the design of a new home – only half of which was refundable – then pulled a fast one by bidding 30 percent more for the project than what the woman and her husband listed as the top price.
In 2017, Dulos' company was accused of violating the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act in a complex real estate transaction, The Norwalk Hour newspaper reported. A state judge, however, ruled that there wasn't enough evidence to prove Fore Group acted maliciously.
Then there were the legal disputes between Fotis Dulos and his wife's parents, Gloria and Hilliard Farber.
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Hilliard Farber, a former vice president at Chase Bank and fellow at the Brookings Institute, bankrolled much of Fotis Dulos' home building business.
But after Hilliard Farber passed away, Gloria Farber, now the executor of her husband's estate, sued her former son-in-law for $500,000 in January 2018. Court documents claim the Farbers loaned Fotis Dulos the money in 2012 and that he had promised to pay them back but hadn't done so by June 2017.
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In 2018, Gloria Farber filed a revised complaint claiming Dulos had borrowed $2.3 million from a bank to buy his Farmington home. According to Farber, Dulos said he would make the loan payments if the Farbers put up the security, which they did. However, court documents show that Dulos defaulted on the loan and the bank went after Gloria Farber.
The Farber estate also sued the Fore Group in February 2018, alleging that Hilliard Farber loaned the company money in 2004 to purchase properties, fix them up and resell them. The Farber attorneys said the Fore Group still owes the estate $1 million on a $1.5 million loan in April 2015.
The divorce between Fotis and Jennifer Dulos is its own legal labyrinth. Fotis Dulos, who has been living in a 10,000-square foot mansion in Farmington with Troconis, claimed to have less than $400,000 in assets against total liabilities between $4.9 million and $7.6 million, according to The Hour.
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During the contentious divorce proceedings, Fotis Dulos claimed he was broke and in "dire financial circumstances," and said his award-winning company, in which he is the sole shareholder, could qualify for bankruptcy. Court records revealed the Fore Group hasn't made a dime this year and that Fotis Dulos has not paid the mortgage on the Farmington home he and Jennifer lived in before they split, but allowed the jet-setting Troconis to live there rent-free.
It is unknown if Troconis went back to the Farmington home after she posted bail. She and Fotis Dulos are due back in court June 11.
In the meantime, authorities are still looking for Jennifer Dulos. They spent much of Wednesday with cadaver dogs at a trash site in Hartford.
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