A nationally known con man has been arrested in Bal Harbour after police say he posed as a professional gambler to swindle $20,000.
Police say Simon Gann, known as Don Juan the Con Man, has a long trail of scamming people with different aliases, but is now facing a second-degree grand theft charge.
Gann's bond was set at $7,500, but he was being held on a warrant, jail records showed. It was unknown if he's hired an attorney.
The latest arrest for the 35-year-old Gann began when the victim and his friend met up with Gann in the South Beach Ritz Carlton this past Labor Day.
"Over a course of 48 hours he was able to befriend the victim and then you know scam him out of his money," Bal Harbor Police Chief Mark Overton said.
Gann claimed to be a professional gambler and convinced the victim to front him money, police said.
"He then was able to persuade the victim to give him a large sum of money and go with him to the Hard Rock where they then proceeded to gamble," Overton said.
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The group played blackjack and Gann proceeded to lose the $10,000 that the victim gave him. Gann said he would pay him back with a check so they went back to the victim's place at the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort. That's when things turned sour.
"When the victim went to the bathroom to shower, he then removed several items of value from the house in addition to another large sum of cash and fled," Overton said.
Gann is accused of stealing expensive items like a Louis Vuitton belt, loafers, a shirt and $10,000 from the victim's wallet.
To make things even more complicated, Gann has a twin brother, Jordan Gann, who now sits in a Hillsborough County jail for similar scams and offenses.
"It's important for the public to see his face, if they recognize him to report it to their police department and they would be in contact with us and hopefully we can put more charges against him and keep him in jail," Overton said.
