Weekly Real Estate News
Summary
An Oregon contractor pleaded guilty to wire fraud after property owners paid more than $850,000 for Newport townhomes prosecutors say were never constructed.
An Oregon contractor has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after federal prosecutors said property owners paid him more than $850,000 to build townhomes that were never constructed.
David Paul Williams, 46, of Eugene, entered the guilty plea Monday in federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon. Sentencing remains pending.
Williams is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 22. He faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. The eventual sentence will be determined by the court.
Property owners paid for a project that never materialized
According to court documents summarized by prosecutors, Williams entered agreements in November 2020 with owners of vacant lots in Newport, Oregon, to construct townhomes through TreeNada Co and Treenada Construction.
Between 2020 and 2022, the owners paid Williams more than $850,000. Prosecutors said the promised townhomes were never built.
The government said Williams sent false progress updates by email and used those representations to obtain additional money. Instead of using the funds as promised, prosecutors said Williams directed money toward other projects, a church he had previously defrauded and pre-existing debt.
The total loss exceeded $850,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The plea follows a 2024 indictment
A federal grand jury indicted Williams in June 2024 on 10 wire-fraud counts. His guilty plea Monday was to wire fraud, and the plea agreement requires him to pay full restitution to the victims, prosecutors said.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Rykken is prosecuting it.
Why the case matters to housing professionals
Builders, lenders, title professionals and investors rely on draw controls, inspections, lien monitoring and documentation to verify that construction funds are being used for the intended project. Those controls vary by transaction and do not eliminate fraud risk, but the Williams case illustrates the consequences when project updates and actual construction activity diverge.
WRE is not inferring misconduct by any other participant in the Newport projects. The federal announcement identifies Williams as the defendant who pleaded guilty and describes the property owners as victims.
The next material development will be sentencing in December, when the court will determine punishment and restitution consistent with the plea agreement and federal law.
