I’m a financial analyst. Finding things out is literally my job.
It took me about forty minutes on that balcony.
Colorado’s public court records are searchable online for a small fee. I paid the $10 search charge and typed in Brandon Smith. The name was common enough to bring up dozens of results, but only one had a date of birth that matched the Brandon who’d posted his thirty-fourth birthday on Instagram in March. His middle name was Scott, which Vanessa had mentioned once.
Brandon Scott Smith had two civil judgments against him in Arapahoe County District Court. One was from three years earlier, for $23,400, entered in favor of a woman named Kelsey Morrow. The case summary said “breach of contract, promissory note.” The other was from eighteen months earlier, for $11,870, in favor of an equipment rental company in Englewood.
Neither judgment showed as satisfied. He hadn’t paid either one.
Then I searched the Colorado Secretary of State’s business database for Smith Capital Partners LLC. It had been registered four years earlier. Its current status was “Delinquent.” It hadn’t filed a periodic report in two years, the most basic $10 annual filing every Colorado LLC has to make.
His real estate investment company existed on paper, and barely.
Then I went back to Kelsey Morrow’s case and pulled the complaint, which was public too. It was twelve pages. Kelsey said she’d dated Brandon for two years. During that time, he convinced her to lend him $23,400 from her retirement savings to “invest” in a duplex renovation in Aurora that he said would double her money in eighteen months. There was no duplex. Brandon stopped returning her calls three weeks after she wired the money.
The court awarded her a default judgment because Brandon never showed up to defend himself.
I sat on the balcony with my laptop on my knees and the ocean roaring below, and I felt sick.
I went back inside. Mom was asleep on the couch, curled up under a throw blanket. I covered her with another one from the bedroom and turned off the lights.
Then I sat at the dining table and wrote everything down: dates, case numbers, judgment amounts, the delinquent LLC.
At 2:15 a.m., I sent one email from my phone to Patricia Gaines, the attorney in Littleton who’d helped me with Dad’s note three years earlier.
“Patricia, it’s Millie Miller. I’m on a cruise, and I’m sorry to write at this hour. My father is about to sign a partnership agreement giving 49% of Miller Home Builders to a man with two unpaid court judgments and a delinquent LLC. They’re planning to use the equipment securing my loan as collateral for a $200,000 line of credit. My lien is still on file. What are my options? I’ll call you when we reach Nassau in the morning.”
Then I lay down on the bed in that enormous suite and finally slept.
Ethan Blake is a skilled Creative Content Specialist with a talent for crafting engaging and thought-provoking narratives. With a strong background in storytelling and digital content creation, Ethan brings a unique perspective to his role at TheArchivists, where he curates and produces captivating content for a global audience.
Ethan holds a degree in Communications from Zurich University, where he developed his expertise in storytelling, media strategy, and audience engagement. Known for his ability to blend creativity with analytical precision, he excels at creating content that not only entertains but also connects deeply with readers.
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