Dade City man accused of fraud in sale of satellite TV box

DADE CITY — Eddy G. Reyes, a 37-year-old who lists himself as the owner of Tropical Breeze Cuban Restaurant on 7th Street in Dade City, was arrested Monday. He is accused of swindling a woman out of $2,500 for a box that promised to give her "Free Satellite Television for Life."

Two weeks after the device was installed on March 7, 2008, it stopped working, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. The woman has spent more than a year trying to get her money back, while Reyes avoided her and threatened her, an arrest report says.

Authorities say Reyes had a side business called Dreamlinc, which offered customers free satellite TV for a one-time fee. Reyes' arrest report said he sold devices that had software "designed to be used for defrauding satellite service providers with unauthorized reception of their services."

In the woman's case, her TV service stopped working because the satellite company blocked the signal because it detected pirating equipment, the report said.

"If anyone offers to sell you one of these satellite boxes for free TV for life, it's a lie," said Kevin Doll, spokesman for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. "Bottom line — it's stealing."

Doll urges other victims to call the Sheriff's Office at (727) 844-7711.

Reyes, who lives at 14524 O'Connell Road in Dade City, is charged with grand theft and fraudulently intercepting communications services without authorization and fraudulently advertising the sale of interception devices. He remained at the Land O'Lakes jail on Tuesday with bail set at $1,800.

Erin Sullivan can be reached at esullivan@sptimes.com or (727) 869-6229.