A Florida man has been indicted on charges of defrauding developers in Kansas, Missouri, Ohio and Utah.
David Ingram allegedly bilked developers out of millions of dollars and now faces charges of wire fraud, making false declarations on bankruptcy forms and making a false account during a bankruptcy proceeding, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Ingram, who is based in Sanford, Florida and heads the lending operation AltosGroups, allegedly required developer clients to deposit more than $4 million that he commingled and transferred to he and his wife’s personal accounts.
Ingram sent a $3 million deposit to a Mexican bank without developers’ knowledge, the release shows. He later canceled lending contracts with the developers.
Ingram is accused of making false representations to developers, including that AltosGroups had credit lines with major international institutions.
His alleged frauds have rippled across real estate markets. In 2018, Minnesota developer D. Jon Monson won approval for a 241-key Hard Rock Hotel in Edwardsville, Kansas, the Kansas City Business Journal reported. Monson approached Ingram’s firm for financing, and representatives of AltosGroups allegedly promised a $48.8 million loan for the project. In March 2020, AltosGroups failed to deliver the financing and the project collapsed.
The breakdown precipitated a series of lawsuits, including Monson’s, as well as a fraud suit UMB Bank brought against Monson and another that investors brought against UMB Bank, according to published reports.
Ingram’s AltosGroups also failed to provide financing for a Hyatt House Hotel project in Kansas City, and another planned hotel in Kanab, Utah, the Kansas City Business Journal reported.
Ingram faces his fraud charges in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. Charges related to his bankruptcy proceedings are being adjudicated in the Middle District of Florida, according to the Justice Department.
–– Kate Hinsche