A Fremont man and his companion stole upward of $6 million from clients and subcontractors of an Omaha building firm, federal prosecutors allege.
Federal brokers raided the house of a Darland Properties vice chairman in Could, seizing costly jewellery and greater than $74,000 money, nearly all of it in $100 payments.
The subsequent day, the worker beneath investigation, Brett A. Prepare dinner, 47, killed himself, in keeping with federal court docket paperwork.
“On Could 4, Saunders County sheriff’s officers discovered Prepare dinner deceased,” in keeping with a civil grievance filed this week in U.S. District Court docket in Omaha. “He had been shot as soon as within the torso and as soon as within the head. Prepare dinner’s demise was dominated a suicide.”
Now, federal authorities are investigating Prepare dinner’s former home companion and enterprise companion, Jeff Stenstrom, and his brother, Brian Prepare dinner, in keeping with a press launch this week from the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace. Court docket information present Stenstrom is also awaiting sentencing for federal revenue tax evasion after prosecutors allege he didn’t file tax returns over a number of years and failed to say about $2 million in revenue that his firm acquired from Prepare dinner.
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Stenstrom’s legal professional, Stu Dornan, stated he and his shopper would don’t have any remark at the moment.
Brian Prepare dinner’s legal professional, Clarence Mock, stated he has seen no proof that Brian Prepare dinner had any data of any fraud alleged to have been dedicated by his brother. Brian Prepare dinner merely agreed to do payroll and billing for a facet firm that Brett Prepare dinner arrange in 2019 to do contracting work, Mock stated. Brett Prepare dinner’s facet firm was set as much as take over for subcontracting work after Stenstrom started to close down his enterprise, Stenstrom Companies.
The feds say each Stenstrom Companies and the alternative firm, Midwest Property Upkeep Options, billed shoppers for work they by no means did, overbilled shoppers for work that was carried out and submitted inflated invoices to acquire insurance coverage proceeds.
Mock stated Brian Prepare dinner has a full-time job in bookkeeping; he took on his brother’s payroll and billing on a part-time foundation.
“I can say that Brian turned concerned along with his brother Brett in 2019 at his brother’s request,” Mock stated. “His involvement within the firm was a part-time endeavor. No matter nefarious dealings that Brett might have had with Jeff Stenstrom, Brian has no data of and wouldn’t have agreed to it.”
Makes an attempt to achieve an legal professional for Darland Properties had been unsuccessful Friday. The Omaha-based firm has filed a court docket motion in opposition to Brett Prepare dinner’s property, saying they’ve “claims for fraud … in opposition to the (deceased) and the Property.”
In line with the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace and federal court docket filings:
Darland paid Brett Prepare dinner an annual wage of $60,000 plus commissions on lease renewals and new leases.
To attempt to generate more cash for himself and his companion Stenstrom, Brett Prepare dinner would steer clients and contractors to Stenstrom, and later to his personal shadow firm, Midwest Property Upkeep Companies, to offer upkeep, restore and renovation work.
The 2 would cost clients for work that was by no means carried out or double-bill them for work that was carried out. Brett Prepare dinner additionally would insist that sure subcontractors pay him commissions for steering work to them — kickbacks that he wasn’t entitled to, the feds say.
Stenstrom Companies “carried out no expert labor, had no staff and all common laborers had been unskilled,” prosecutors wrote within the civil lawsuit. “Many of the work SSI carried out on behalf of (Darland) was subcontracted.
“The scheme resulted in a lack of $4.25 million, nearly all of which straight benefited (Brett) Prepare dinner.”
In November 2019, Brett Prepare dinner and Stenstrom stopped utilizing Stenstrom Companies to assist out with properties. As a substitute, Prepare dinner and his brother shaped Midwest Property Upkeep — which the feds say was a brand new identify for a similar recreation.
In a single case, Darland had paid a subcontractor $121,000 for materials to repave a car parking zone. Brett Prepare dinner referred to as the subcontractor and advised him to reimburse Midwest Property — not Darland — for the supplies.
Throughout this previous winter, which was gentle, prosecutors say, the Cooks billed eight Darland clients $194,000 for snow elimination — eight occasions what the invoice ought to have been ($24,000).
“The continued scheme resulted in a lack of not lower than $600,000, most of which benefitted Prepare dinner and Brian Prepare dinner,” federal prosecutors wrote.
On high of that, Brett Prepare dinner required clients to pay a payment “for negotiations with insurance coverage corporations and by requiring kickbacks.” That resulted in clients dropping a further $1.1 million.
Complete fraud, in keeping with prosecutors: $5.95 million.
The U.S. Lawyer’s workplace stated in press launch this week {that a} “felony investigation is ongoing.”
Within the meantime, brokers have filed a lawsuit searching for to both freeze or seize a dizzying quantity of property that Brett Prepare dinner and Stenstrom bought over the previous 4 years.
- A suburban Phoenix house that’s now valued at $1.7 million.
- $365,000 for a home at 20505 York St. in Omaha.
- $150,000 that was put right into a pizza place and bar within the Woodcliff Lakes space south of Fremont.
- $103,000 to pay a part of a mortgage on a home at 19607 Mayberry St. in Omaha.
- $100,000 that was spent for a 50% stake in actual property housing an auto glass retailer in Columbus.
- $470,000 for a industrial constructing at 4859 S. 136th St. in Millard.
- A 2020 McLaren 600 LT Spider sportscar, bought for $345,000.
- A 2017 Ferrari 488 GTB, bought for $306,000.
- $80,000 every for 4 pink 2021 or 2022 Sierra GMC vehicles, a lot of them Denali fashions.
- $71,000 for a blue 2020 GMC Denali truck.
- $86,000 for a 2021 Chevy Silverado truck.
If the vehicles weren’t sufficient, federal officers say, Prepare dinner and Stenstrom bought a gallery price of pricey jewellery, together with: a $54,000 Rolex Daytona watch; a $52,000 18-karat adjustable chain and 4 hearts solitaire pendant; a $34,400 Rolex Oyster Perpetual Daytona White Mop8 watch; a $28,300 Hublot Bing Bang watch; a $19,000 DIA 18-inch necklace; an $8,300 Zenith El Primero watch; 4 Rolex Oyster perpetual watches that ranged in value from $6,000 to $18,000 every; a $13,800 hockey participant pendant and a $10,000 18 karat yellow gold hockey goalie pendant; a $14,500 18-karat diamond ring with sapphires; a $13,800 18-karat white gold bull rider pendant; a $3,500 18-karat white gold girl’s ring with sapphires and diamonds; a $2,000 Astron SS brace watch; an $8,700 Breitling Navitimer watch and a $4,800 Breitling Aviator 8 Curtiss Warhawk watch.
And the feds are claiming an curiosity in additional than $2.18 million in life insurance coverage insurance policies that Brett Prepare dinner had taken out.
Prosecutors say the federal government can be entitled to the $74,000 in money it discovered at Prepare dinner’s residence within the Woodcliff Lakes space south of Fremont, together with one other $75,000 in a checking account.
One merchandise the feds record however might don’t have any means of getting a refund on: a Memorial Stadium suite that Prepare dinner leased to observe Husker video games.
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