Easley Attorney Pleads Guilty to Real Estate Fraud

Scott Allmon, a 38-year-old closing attorney from Easley, pleaded guilty this week in federal court for his alleged role in an illegal real estate investment scheme, U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said.

The alleged scheme revolves around the failed Upstate real estate development, Riviera Estates, Nettles said. Rufus Revis and William Binnicker, who have already pled guilty, joined forces to put the project together, in which Allmon acted as closing attorney, Nettles said.

Riviera Estates was a "straw buyer scheme" where investors would borrow the funds to construct homes in Riviera Estates and split the profits with Revis and Binnicker upon the completion and sale of the homes, Nevis said.

According to one investor, “Rufus and William approached us, [and said] we were going to make $50,000 each. They would pay all costs, we would have no money in at all, they would just use our good credit for the loans. That's all they needed was our good credit.”

In addition to his interest in Riveria Estates, Binnicker was the loan officer for the loans issued by Wells Fargo and Regions Bank to the investors. Many of the loan applications completed by Binnicker contained false statements including the purpose of loan, Nettles said.

Most stated that the property would be a primary or secondary residence, but Binnicker knew that this was an investment project. Several applications also had inflated amounts of income for the borrowers. These false statements were made to induce the banks to approve the loans and to procure favorable interest rates, Nettles said.

During and in relation to the closings of multiple transactions, Revis signed affidavits stating that there were no contacts or side agreements affecting the property, "when he knew very well that there existed a Riviera Estates Investor Agreement concerning the property. Hence, bank officials were kept in the dark about the investor agreements. The banks were also unaware that Binnicker had an interest in Riviera Estates," Nettles said.

Allmon was the closing attorney for the loans. Allmon knowingly made false statements about deposits that were allegedly put down on the property, Nettles said. "For example, one settlement statement indicated that the purchaser had made a $15,000 deposit when Allmon knew that no such money had changed hands," Nettles said. 

The maximum penalty Allmon can receive is five years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a special assessment fee of $100. He will be sentenced at a later date, Nettles said.