MINT HILL, N.C. — Lester Rivenbark still kicks himself when he thinks of Mint Hill real estate agent Brian Haigler.
“I feel like I’ve been taken advantage of,” he told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke. “I’ve been in real estate 40 years and I knew I should have gotten more documentation and I didn’t because I trusted them because they were ‘Christians.’”
Rivenbark says he invested $150,000 with Haigler for land in Mint Hill. He says Haigler promised him $15,000 profit in three months, but that he never got any money back.
According to state records, Haigler and his wife ran S&B Real Estate Investments. Haigler’s wife isn’t facing criminal charges. People who know Haigler say he belonged to Living Praise Church of God in Monroe.
“He kept saying that he was having trouble getting everything, the paperwork and everything, in line through the bank,” Rivenbark said. “We realized we probably … were in trouble. They [were] in trouble.”
Federal prosecutors say Haigler tricked friends into investing in real estate transactions, embezzled from his church, and used his church’s name -- behind its back -- to land a U.S. Small Business Administration loan meant for pandemic relief.
Investigators say Haigler did all three to pay personal expenses and -- in some cases -- to pay off prior investors -- “Ponzi-style.” They say Haigler’s alleged crimes total more than $1.5 million.
“I feel stupid. I feel dumb,” Rivenbark said. “We probably could have worked all this out. If they had paid me five dollars a month for the rest of their life or something. But there was no attempt to try and work this out.”
Haigler pled guilty to wire fraud. He faces up to 20 years behind bars. The next step: sentencing. Again, to be clear, his wife does not face charges.
There’s no word if any victims will get money back. Stoogenke emailed Haigler’s lawyer to see if Haigler had any comment for this report, but didn’t hear back in time for this report.
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