Florida Construction News staff writer
A Florida businessman was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for defrauding clients in Kansas, Missouri, Utah and Ohio through a construction loan scheme that caused more than $8 million in losses. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan J. Huschka prosecuted the case.
According to court documents, David Ingram, 73, previously of Sanford, Florida and Cornelius, North Carolina — pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
Ingram was the founder and managing member of AltosGroups LLC, which claimed to have warehouse lines of credit with major international financial institutions. The company signed contracts with commercial real estate developers, agreeing to secure financing for construction projects. Ingram required developers to pay initial deposits to access the supposed credit lines, the court stated.
Prosecutors, however, said no such credit lines existed. Ingram told victims their deposits would be kept in accounts dedicated to their projects, but instead diverted the money to accounts belonging to him or his wife. The funds were used for personal expenses and other business purposes, including the transfer of $3 million to a Mexican financial institution. He failed to fund the loans and did not return the deposits.
“Schemes as shady as this one merit aggressive investigation by IRS-Criminal Investigation,” St. Louis Field Office Special Agent in Charge William Steenson said in a statement. “Mr. Ingram caused a great deal of financial loss to the four victims all to fill his own bank accounts with their hard-earned money. Now it’s time for him to be held accountable for his actions.”
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service.
