Chris Isaak accuses homebuilder of fraudulent wicked game

A tangle of Tennessee lawsuits that includes Chris Isaak as a plaintiff alleges a home builder engaged in a wicked game of fraud totalling millions of dollars against his business partners and lenders.

In one lawsuit, Brian Layton, who owns Britt Development, is accused of, among other things, forging Isaak’s signature to secure loans connected to Nashville properties Layton, Isaak (best known for his 1989 hit “Wicked Game”) and others owned together through a number of LLCs, the Nashville Post reported.

The parties had originally planned to develop the properties they acquired, according to the suit. Instead of using the funds for the development of the properties, Layton and his wife, Sarah, used $4 million in loans secured by the properties for their own personal use.

Layton, according to the lawsuit, then essentially stole the properties by quit claiming them to a separate LLC, 

“Having stolen the millions, the land, and the homes, Sarah Layton then helped Brian Layton transfer the stolen funds through a network of shell companies to hide their ill-gotten gains,” according to the website brianlaytonnashville.com, which was set up by Nashville attorney Brian Manookian to document the litigation.

“It’s clear to me that Layton has been … transferring funds, loans and building materials belonging to new investors to earlier projects that have stalled out,” Manookian wrote in an email to the Nashville Post. “I don’t get the sense Layton set out to perpetuate a $30 million-plus scam. I think the guy got in over his head, panicked and started papering over losses by taking on new investors and [allegedly] forging loan documents. The dozen-plus pending lawsuits speak to that.” 

Accusations of fraud aren’t new in real estate.

In Florida, Coconut Grove developer Doug Cox is accused by homebuyers of gross negligence and intentional misconduct, fraud and running a civil conspiracy totalling tens of millions of dollars in damages, according to the complaints. Cox allegedly failed to finish homes, failed to pay back debt and sold the same properties to multiple buyers, according to the lawsuits.

 — Ted Glanzer