A former Massachusetts realtor who was indicted on multiple charges including embezzlement was sentenced to two-to-three years in prison followed by five years of probation after changing his plea to guilty.
WCBV reports Stephen Webster, the owner of the now-defunct Success Real Estate in Marshfield, also pleaded guilty to charges of witness intimidation and publishing a false financial statement.
Webster was accused of detouring more than $11.6 million in client escrow funds into his personal and business accounts, which he used to cover debts, purchase luxury items, rent property in Florida and fund his gambling habit. Webster also submitted a falsified bank letter to state regulators during a 2023 audit, where he insisted the escrow accounts encompassed $1 million when there was only $7,321.51.
As a result of Webster’s fraud, buyers and sellers lost hundreds of thousands at closings while real estate agents were stuck with more than $500,000 in unpaid commissions.
Webster was indicted on Sept. 12 and arrested in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sept. 30. He was extradited to Massachusetts and pleaded guilty on Wednesday to embezzling $11 million from escrow accounts.
“I am profoundly sorry to everybody in this court and everybody online,” Webster said during his sentencing. “I twisted myself into a pretzel trying to stop this all this time.”
0 Comments