Chapter 16 - THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
Duncan’s development company did not collapse.
The senior lender restructured.
Independent manager stayed.
New investor contributed capital.
Duncan’s thirty-percent interest diluted to eighteen percent.
Painful.
Lawful.
The project eventually completed eighteen months late.
Why did that matter?
Because criminal and civil accountability should not require:
Unpaid construction workers.
Abandoned site.
Contractors losing businesses.
The independent manager negotiated liens.
Vendors got paid over time.
Units sold.
Duncan’s equity retained some value.
Enough to satisfy portions of financial judgments and loan obligations.
The false financial statement became the core of a separate fraud case.
Prosecutors alleged Duncan knowingly represented nonowned assets as available collateral and diverted company/home reimbursement funds.
Charges:
Bank or lender fraud under applicable state/federal theory? Private credit. Could be wire fraud if electronic, but let's keep "financial fraud and false statement charges."
The lender cooperated.
Dad’s companies cooperated.
No one claimed the lender was fooled completely.
They caught the inconsistencies before funding.
So actual loss from the proposed $8 million loan:
None.
Attempted fraud can still be criminal.
The diverted $500,000 in renovation reimbursements created real loss to Dad’s property company.
But audit found:
$372,000 unsupported or diverted.
$128,000 tied to actual work but misclassified.
Again.
Not every dollar stolen.
Duncan’s lawyers negotiated.
No immediate plea.
He wanted trial on some counts.
May you like
Fine.
Truth could survive process.
