Former operator one of the largest home franchise America agreed to plead guilty of fraud with a federal wire in connection with the wide pink scheme aimed at the people who believed that they invest in his real estate empire.
Federal prosecutors in Texas identified 80 victims who have raised nearly $ 40 million Carl Carrier since 2018. Although the carrier agreed to admit his guilt only in one count Fraud with criminal liability By including one transfer of $ 200,000, he confessed to a wider scheme as part of the transaction and agreed to pay the restitution – the number of which still needs to be determined.
The prosecution also carries a maximum of 20 years of imprisonment and the possibilities of millions of fines. The federal judge will decide the verdict.
The air carrier owned by Dallas C & C, residential facilities, one of the most successful franchise on the Homevestors network, which is known for its slogan “We buy ugly homes”. Homevestors stopped Franchise Carrier in October 2024, receiving the hint he cheated on investors. He has since sued him for violating the company’s security trademark. The carrier has not yet answered the lawsuit.
In a plot published this month, propublica is described in detail as Carrier threw millions of dollars off investor scores In Texas, including wealthy entrepreneurs, and older adults, more modest funds depending on investment income for daily costs. According to new court documents, losses for individual investors vary from 35,000 to $ 11.6 million. The guilt agreement was sued two weeks after the article was published.
The carrier has taken an investor loan to finance their home -shop, originally using money to buy and update old houses to sell profits. The carrier promised that each loan would be provided with a percentage of ownership of the house, and it will pay 8% -10% in monthly installments for the loan.
For many years, investors have received reliable monthly payments. In 2018, however, the carrier began to take several loans to separate objects, sometimes providing investors to the case he had never recorded, and having collected the debt far at the cost of the houses, according to the court documents. Carrier Also recognized Signing up signatures and notaries so that it can sell real estate without informing investors or paying their notes, according to the court documents. The carrier confessed using investors’ money for “paying personal balances of credit cards, business exits and interest commitments to previous investors”, according to the court documents.
The fact that the Carrier’s guilt contains only one charge has left several victims even more angry.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Ron Carver, who lost $ 300,000 and his father lost $ 200,000 to death. “They will allow him to speak, and he can get a slap on his wrist.”
The US Prosecutor’s Office said he could not comment on the case.
Carrier’s lawyer, Tom Papas, said it was not “intention to deceive anyone from his money.”
“To a great extent, all his money was invested in his business to try to make it successful so that the investors are successful,” the Pope said, adding that the carrier did not finance a magnificent lifestyle. Without providing details, the Pope said that changes in the real estate market “overtaken” the carrier and “the thing just got off”.
Although the carrier agreed to recognize only one count, the judge determined by the prosecutor’s office will be considered by the judge during the sentence.
Pope said the carrier “seeks to repay every investor who can make them whole.” The Pope said he expects the restitution to be “much lower” than $ 40 million, which is determined by the prosecutor’s office, as lawyers overcome the cost of investor losses. In February, the carrier signed an agreement on the liquidation of assets, which allowed the prosecutor’s office to observe the sale of its other objects, and the revenue goes to restitution.
Pope said he expects the carrier to serve in prison.
“Depending on the amount of losses, it is likely that he can go to jail,” he said. “But again, we are doing our best to make everyone as much as possible.”
