Last month, Keith Wilson was arrested in Stockton, CA after 22 months on the run.
Those involved in the Richmond District community may know his name. He was a fixture at merchant-related meetings in the neighborhood, known for vociferously opposing the Geary Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project (Editorial: “Merchants out in the cold”).
He had an office on Geary Boulevard – “impressive” according to the Examiner – and was a visible member of the neighborhood upper crust. His wife played tennis at a country club almost every day, and Wilson made cash donations to local organizations.
By all accounts, he appeared to be a concerned citizen and businessman, involved in the Richmond District community and trying to make it a better place.
But two years ago, things began to unravel as business associates of Wilson’s started to piece things together.
What would come to light is that the very people Wilson was rallying for – the members of his community – were the same people he ended up defrauding, allegedly fleecing them of nearly $300,000 in a real estate scam.
The Examiner explains, “Wilson used his fake persona as a wealthy community cheerleader to convince locals to invest in distressed or foreclosed properties, according to police. He allegedly promised to buy the properties, fix them up and resell them at a profit.”
But in Bernie Madoff style, Wilson took the money but never invested it or purchased the properties. Investors grew suspicious when they never saw a return on their investments and after some digging, learned that one of the properties – a home in Milpitas – had never been purchased by Wilson or either of his companies, Tribecca Properties LLC and Lone Cedar Corp.
“He fooled us all,” said one member of the Greater Geary Boulevard Merchant Association to the Examiner, who wished to remain anonymous. “He lived really well with those people’s money.”
One of his victims is a senior citizen who invested $115,000 with Wilson, what the Examiner describes as “a “substantial” portion of his retirement savings.”
Attorney Jordanna Thigpen, who filed a suit on behalf of three of Wilson’s victims, is largely credited with bringing the full extent of his crimes to light.
After she filed the suit, Wilson, 56, went on the run for 22 months until last week when he was arrested in Stockton on charges of defrauding at least seven community members of nearly $300,000.
Wilson is being held in jail in lieu of a $1 million bond being posted.
Sarah B.
A fool and their money…
Count me in as one of the people who got to know and like Keith, and came within hours of giving him money as an investor. He was a real pro. I guess that’s the way it works with sociopaths. They believe their own lies so they don’t appear to be guilty. Scary.
And to think he was such a good support of the Geary merchants group and one of th people working with them to stop BRT. Wonder if he really fooled everyone or if some knew..