Aug
Man Running Real Estate Investment Scam Going to Prison
An alert attorney is responsible for bringing to light the dark side of a Richmond-area businessman who apparently was not what he appeared to be.
Attorney Jordanna Thigpen sued Keith Wilson on behalf of three victims. Now Wilson is heading off to prison, possibly up to five years, following a plea bargain with prosecutors.
According to police, Wilson was running a real estate investment fraud, for which he was arrested in Stockton and then charged with defrauding seven people out of more than $400,000. The scam involved Wilson convincing local residents to invest in the distressed real estate market. He promised (but did not) to purchase foreclosed properties, rehab them and then sell them at a profit through his companies Tribecca Properties LLC and Lone Cedar Corp.
Thigpen’s lawsuit alerted authorities, who spent 22 months looking for Wilson, who vanished ahead of the 34 search warrants that were issued against his name. She was impressed by the police work and outcome, saying “Often it is difficult to have these people sentenced. Look at Wall Street; they’ve done way more damage than someone who’s done a drug crime.”
Read the original article in the San Francisco Examiner.
