Marshals make arrest in debt collection scam

FORT MYERS — U.S. Marshals arrested former debt collection agency executive Robert Dana Brown for allegedly defrauding homeowners associations in Lee County.

Brown, former president of Leading Association Solutions in Fort Myers, collected more than $4 million from 400 homeowners association accounts but allegedly failed to remit at least $56,000 in delinquent dues, according to a statement from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation.

The agency says Brown's alleged fraud lasted from 2008 to 2012 before he abandoned his business and moved to Washington state. The OFR statement says U.S. Marshals arrested Brown in Seattle based on a Florida warrant issued in July 2014.