Wildwood Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud

St. Louis, MO – Paul Creager, 39, of Wildwood, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in connection with the sale of equity in his construction business. Creager appeared before U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel, and admitted to misrepresenting the financial health of his company in connection with the solicitation of $724,024.14 in investments from two individuals in 2016. Specifically, Creager admitted to omitting his company’s largest obligation from financial information provided to the investors. Without this large debt on its books, Creager’s company appeared valuable and profitable. With it, it was not. Only months after receiving the victims’ investment, Creager’s company became insolvent and the victims’ investments are now worthless.

Judge Sippel accepted Creager’s plea and deferred sentencing until March 21, 2018. The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated in court it has additional investigations into other aspects of Creager’s business that were not resolved by today’s guilty plea.

At sentencing, Creager faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a fine of not more than $250,000 or both for each count of wire fraud. Restitution to the victims is mandatory. The government has also seized financial accounts associated with Creager and a vehicle in the course of its investigation.

The case was investigated by the St. Louis Division of the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Albus is handling the case for the government.