The owner of a defunct Massachusetts real estate brokerage has been indicted for embezzlement.
Boston 25 News reports Stephen D. Webster, broker and principal with Success! Real Estate in Marshfield, 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.
A Plymouth County grand jury returned a four-count indictment against Webster, with one count each of fiduciary embezzlement, larceny over $1,200 by a single scheme, witness intimidation, and publishing a false financial statement.
Webster, who previously admitted in court that the charges brought against him were “basically accurate,” was recently arrested in Florida and is awaiting an extradition hearing to be brought back to Massachusetts.
