Matthew E. Burghoff Press Release (Indictment)

April 3, 2008
For Immediate Release

LOCAL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER/BUILDING RENOVATOR INDICTED ON FEDERAL CHARGES OF BANK FRAUD, MONEY LAUNDERING AND VIOLATIONS OF THE
CLEAN AIR ACT

St. Louis, MO: Matthew E. Burghoff, Kirkwood, Missouri, was indicted on multiple counts of bank fraud, money laundering and violations of the Clean Air Act involving his renovation of the Ford building at 1405 Pine, St. Louis, and numerous other buildings and businesses in the St. Louis area, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway announced today.

“The indictment details numerous frauds that seem to indicate that Mr. Burghoff was allegedly engaged in a “rob Peter to pay Paul” type of activity,” said Hanaway.

According to counts one through six of the indictment, Burghoff is charged with failure to provide notice to EPA at least ten days before the asbestos removal began of the intent to renovate the Ford facility; violations of applicable work practice standards of the Clean Air Act; and negligently causing asbestos to be released into the air. On September 19, 2007, the City of St. Louis Air Pollution Control Division received an anonymous letter stating concerns that unqualified personnel were removing asbestos-insulated piping at the Ford building located at 1405 Pine Street, St. Louis. On October 1, 2007, an inspector with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources accompanied by Burghoff, owner and operator of the building, conducted an inspection and observed asbestos debris swept into piles on floors 2-13 and approximately 60 black bags containing dry asbestos material.

Count seven of the indictment states that Burghoff falsely told an EPA agent that he had an inspection for the presence of asbestos conducted by an environmental company before he started any demolition work at the Ford building, and the inspection revealed no asbestos present. He told the agent that vagrants broke into the building, cut and removed all of the pipes and left asbestos in the building. In fact, according to the indictment, inspections had revealed the presence of asbestos and Burghoff and his employee/subcontractors removed pipes and asbestos.

The indictment also alleges violations of the bank fraud and money laundering statutes. Specifically, the indictment alleges Mr. Burghoff had a loan with Montgomery Bank to purchase and renovate the Ford Building at 1405 Pine, St. Louis, Missouri. The indictment alleges that during this time period, he had a subcontractor inflate a bill by approximately $133,000. This bill was forwarded to and relied on by Montgomery Bank, causing the extra money to be forwarded to the subcontractor. The subcontractor then kicked back this money to Mr. Burghoff unbeknownst to Montgomery Bank.

The indictment also alleges that Mr. Burghoff had a loan with Great Southern Bank to renovate a building located in downtown Kirkwood, at the corner of North Clay and West Argonne. Burghoff caused approximately $273,000 to be loaned by Great Southern Bank to renovate part of the building for a restaurant. That money was not used by Burghoff to renovate the restaurant, but transferred to another Burghoff controlled bank account at National City Bank. At the same time period, at least three checks were sent to the Republic of Mexico by Burghoff as alleged in three money laundering counts of the indictment. Burghoff then sought money to renovate the same space for the restaurant from Peoples Bank. In order to obtain this loan, Burghoff submitted false federal tax returns. This loan application was rejected by Peoples Bank.

The defendant is also alleged to have diverted money from a Southwest Bank loan on the Des Peres Office Park building, located near the intersection of Manchester and Highway 270. These monies, as mentioned in three counts of the indictment, were represented to be expenses by subcontractors who had done work or were to do work on the Des Peres Office Building Project. However, as alleged in the indictment, some $68,000 was paid to a subcontractor on the Bee Hat Building Project in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, which Burghoff was renovating. Another $50,000 was diverted to a different subcontractor who inflated his bill on another project of Burghoff’s known as the Cold Stone Creamery and not for the Des Peres Office Project. All of these diversions were unknown to Southwest Bank.

The following charges carry maximum penalties of:

Felony Violation of the Clean Air Act - five years prison and/or fines up to $250,000
Misdemeanor Violation of the Clean Air Act - one year prison and/or fines up to $100,000
Making false statements to a government agency - 10 years prison and/or fines up to $250,000
Bank fraud - 30 years prison and/or fines up to $1,000,000
Money Laundering - 10 years prison and/or fines up to $250,000

Hanaway commended the work performed on the case by Region 7 - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and First Assistant United States Attorney Michael W. Reap and Special Assistant United States Attorney Anne Rauch, who are handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI CATHERINE L. HANAWAY United States Attorney	NEWS RELEASE
For further information: Call Public Affairs Officer Jan Diltz at (314) 539-7719
April 3, 2008 For Immediate Release LOCAL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER/BUILDING RENOVATOR INDICTED ON FEDERAL CHARGES OF BANK FRAUD, MONEY LAUNDERING AND VIOLATIONS OF THE CLEAN AIR ACT St. Louis, MO: Matthew E. Burghoff, Kirkwood, Missouri, was indicted on multiple counts of bank fraud, money laundering and violations of the Clean Air Act involving his renovation of the Ford building at 1405 Pine, St. Louis, and numerous other buildings and businesses in the St. Louis area, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway announced today. “The indictment details numerous frauds that seem to indicate that Mr. Burghoff was allegedly engaged in a “rob Peter to pay Paul” type of activity,” said Hanaway. According to counts one through six of the indictment, Burghoff is charged with failure to provide notice to EPA at least ten days before the asbestos removal began of the intent to renovate the Ford facility; violations of applicable work practice standards of the Clean Air Act; and negligently causing asbestos to be released into the air. On September 19, 2007, the City of St. Louis Air Pollution Control Division received an anonymous letter stating concerns that unqualified personnel were removing asbestos-insulated piping at the Ford building located at 1405 Pine Street, St. Louis. On October 1, 2007, an inspector with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources accompanied by Burghoff, owner and operator of the building, conducted an inspection and observed asbestos debris swept into piles on floors 2-13 and approximately 60 black bags containing dry asbestos material. Count seven of the indictment states that Burghoff falsely told an EPA agent that he had an inspection for the presence of asbestos conducted by an environmental company before he started any demolition work at the Ford building, and the inspection revealed no asbestos present. He told the agent that vagrants broke into the building, cut and removed all of the pipes and left asbestos in the building. In fact, according to the indictment, inspections had revealed the presence of asbestos and Burghoff and his employee/subcontractors removed pipes and asbestos. The indictment also alleges violations of the bank fraud and money laundering statutes. Specifically, the indictment alleges Mr. Burghoff had a loan with Montgomery Bank to purchase and renovate the Ford Building at 1405 Pine, St. Louis, Missouri. The indictment alleges that during this time period, he had a subcontractor inflate a bill by approximately $133,000. This bill was forwarded to and relied on by Montgomery Bank, causing the extra money to be forwarded to the subcontractor. The subcontractor then kicked back this money to Mr. Burghoff unbeknownst to Montgomery Bank. The indictment also alleges that Mr. Burghoff had a loan with Great Southern Bank to renovate a building located in downtown Kirkwood, at the corner of North Clay and West Argonne. Burghoff caused approximately $273,000 to be loaned by Great Southern Bank to renovate part of the building for a restaurant. That money was not used by Burghoff to renovate the restaurant, but transferred to another Burghoff controlled bank account at National City Bank. At the same time period, at least three checks were sent to the Republic of Mexico by Burghoff as alleged in three money laundering counts of the indictment. Burghoff then sought money to renovate the same space for the restaurant from Peoples Bank. In order to obtain this loan, Burghoff submitted false federal tax returns. This loan application was rejected by Peoples Bank. The defendant is also alleged to have diverted money from a Southwest Bank loan on the Des Peres Office Park building, located near the intersection of Manchester and Highway 270. These monies, as mentioned in three counts of the indictment, were represented to be expenses by subcontractors who had done work or were to do work on the Des Peres Office Building Project. However, as alleged in the indictment, some $68,000 was paid to a subcontractor on the Bee Hat Building Project in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, which Burghoff was renovating. Another $50,000 was diverted to a different subcontractor who inflated his bill on another project of Burghoff’s known as the Cold Stone Creamery and not for the Des Peres Office Project. All of these diversions were unknown to Southwest Bank. The following charges carry maximum penalties of: Felony Violation of the Clean Air Act - five years prison and/or fines up to $250,000 Misdemeanor Violation of the Clean Air Act - one year prison and/or fines up to $100,000 Making false statements to a government agency - 10 years prison and/or fines up to $250,000 Bank fraud - 30 years prison and/or fines up to $1,000,000 Money Laundering - 10 years prison and/or fines up to $250,000 Hanaway commended the work performed on the case by Region 7 - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and First Assistant United States Attorney Michael W. Reap and Special Assistant United States Attorney Anne Rauch, who are handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.