Wildwood Home Developer Gets Prison for Wire Fraud
Date Posted: May 22, 2018
Posted In: News,
From St. Louis Business Journal: Paul Creager of Wildwood was sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding two investors in his failed construction business in 2016, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri. Creager, 39, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in December.
Creager solicited $724,000 from two investors in exchange for equity interests in his construction firm, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. He admitted that during negotiations with the victims, he presented false financial records that omitted massive debt owed by his company to a lender that possessed a secured interest in almost all of his business and personal assets, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
After Creager received investments, his business was not able to meet its financial obligations and stopped operating. By mid-2017, his primary lender foreclosed on all of his assets rendering the investors’ equity stakes in his business worthless, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
While his business was failing and vendors and subcontractors went unpaid, Creager led a luxurious lifestyle that included homes in Wildwood and the Lake of the Ozarks, as well as vehicles such as a Bentley and a 52-foot yacht.