Raleigh Real Estate Developer Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud and Firearm Possession Charges | USAO-EDNC

RALEIGH, NC – A Raleigh man pleaded guilty today of wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, and possession of a firearm by a felon, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922 ( g).

Acting US Attorney G. Norman Acker III stated, “With this plea, this office is bringing a dangerous man to justice who has defrauded numerous real estate investors in North Carolina and elsewhere. We are grateful for the work of our federal, state and local counterparts for their joint efforts to ensure that the accused pays a heavy price for their crimes. ”

According to court documents, Joshua Matthew Houchins, 36, the owner of several Raleigh real estate development companies, admitted cheating on real estate investors. Houchins also admitted illegally possessing a firearm after being convicted of a crime.

According to the Replacing Indictment, Houchins owned and operated Rossshire Development LLC, Greenstone Ventures LLC and Modern South Development LLC between 2014 and 2018 and used these companies to defraud its real estate development investors. In particular, Houchins asked for investment funds by telling victims that their money would be “processed” for a particular property and that the investments would be secured through trust agreements that would be filed with the county’s commercial register. In fact, Houchins did not use all investor funds on the property the investor was invested in, but has regularly used investor funds on other properties or for personal expenses. Likewise, the investor’s promissory notes were not secured by a trust agreement as promised. In some cases, Houchins did not even own the property that was the subject of the investment and therefore could not truthfully issue a deed of trust to the investor.

The indictment alleges that after Houchins diverted investors’ money from the property on which the funds were to be spent, Houchins did not develop and sell as he advocated. Houchins then failed to pay investors the promised returns. Investors could not close the investment properties because Houchins had not secured the promissory note loan with a trust deed, which resulted in losses for the investors. Houchins pleaded guilty to Count Nine, who on January 6, 2017, charged with a case of the fraud described above. As part of the plea, Houchins agreed to reimburse all victims for losses from the system and related systems.

According to the second part of the replacing indictment, the grand jury began investigating Houchins in 2018 for the above offenses. After issuing subpoenas to his attorney and to his various real estate companies, Houchins only presented a small number of documents to the grand jury. Instead, the indictment alleges that Houchins admitted in a February 2020 letter that he had “destroyed all evidence”.

The replacing indictment also alleges that Houchins, who recently separated from his wife, began sending her harassing messages. The indictment alleges that Houchin’s wife received a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) prohibiting Houchins from contacting, threatening, or harassing his wife. While Houchins was already banned from possession of a firearm due to his convicted felon status, the DVPO continued to prohibit Houchins from possessing a firearm.

The substitute indictment then claims that in March 2020, Houchins told friends of his wife that she “ran to the police” and that Houchins had “no mercy on a lying rat”. About a month later, the replacing indictment alleges that Houchins sent threatening letters to his wife’s friends and family, including photos of Houchins wearing a mask and tactical vest.

The replacing indictment then alleges that Houchins was arrested after his Internet search for “killing your wife for love”. At the time of his arrest, Houchins was in possession of a Ruger AR-15, 4 magazines, a double canister magazine with 100 rounds of ammunition, two boxes of .223 caliber ammunition and a tactical vest. Houchins pleaded guilty to Count Fourteen, who claimed he owned the Ruger AR-15 despite being a convicted felon.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announced the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the North Carolina Secretary of State are investigating the case. The Wake County Sheriff’s Office, Apex Police Department, and Sanford Police Department also provided assistance. US Assistant Attorney William M. Gilmore is pursuing the case.

For related court documents and information, visit the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or PACER by searching for Case No. 5: 20-CR-245-1D (2).