WexTrust Capital's Steven Byers Pleads Guilty

One of the co-founders of WexTrust Capital, Steven Byers, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his now defunct real estate investment company. Byers, 47, defrauded investors through a real estate fund sold as a private placement deal. Beginning in 2006, Byers lured investors into his fund with, among other things, false statements regarding his ownership of seven properties planned for lease to the US government. Despite promises that this money would be used to invest in real estate ventures, investors' money used on unrelated projects and redistributed to other investors. Given false information, WexTrust gained over 1,000 investors in the US and abroad, and eventually investors were collectively defrauded upwards $255 million. Byers now faces 12 ½ to 15 ½ years in federal prison when he is sentenced on September 13th.