Developer pleads guilty in $1.8 million real estate scheme
A bankrupt Las Vegas developer pleaded guilty Friday in a commercial real estate scheme that authorities say cost investors roughly $1.8 million.
Jean Marc Eljwaidi, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in the scheme and is to be sentenced in federal court on Nov. 29. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Eljwaidi is a former employee of Triple Five Development, a company that specializes in building shopping malls.
He diverted investor money meant for a commercial project to himself, Nevada U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden said.
The scheme, investigated by the FBI, unfolded between November 2008 and June 2009 involving an Eljwaidi project at Interstate 215 and Russell Road, according to prosecutors. The project was not related to Triple Five Development.
State prosecutors dropped criminal charges against Eljwaidi in 2010 after he paid more than $300,000 in restitution in a similar fraud scheme. Investigators accused Eljwaidi of failing to follow through with high-interest payments he offered for investments in his projects, including a shopping center next to his offices .
In the scheme investigated by the FBI, Eljwaidi knew the project could not be completed but still enticed people into investing, federal prosecutors alleged. Eljwaidi used the money to maintain his affluent lifestyle and keep the property from foreclosure, prosecutors alleged.
