A Texas entrepreneur singlehandedly raised nearly $8 million dollars to fund two commercial investments in New Mexico and Texas, which would have been impressive if the money had gone to building the large-scale retail development projects that he was pitching to would-be investors. Unfortunately, instead of building retail space, he spent most of the investment capital on “expenditures unrelated to the two projects” and now faces up to a total of 200 years in federal prison[1]. The 68-year-old man, Eric Brauss, who was indicted late last week, was indicted on ten counts for defrauding investors.

What makes this case more complicated is that Brauss fled the country in 2009 after his company, Today Realty Advisors, closed down (or fell apart) as his schemes started to crumble[2]. He is believed to be living in Brazil and, according to his attorney, is likely gone for good[3]. It is believed that myriad investors have a total of $200 million at risk in various partnerships with Brauss, but the indictments last week are the first criminal charges. According to his attorney, Brauss “liquidated valuable personal items including his watches and wine collection…Frankly, Eric’s not coming back,” the lawyer said. Brauss faces civil complaints from Bellagio, Mandalay Bay and the Mirage in Las Vegas for gambling losses in addition to an ongoing FBI probe.

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[2] http://www.dallasnews.com/business/headlines/20110218-former-dallas-arts-patron-eric-brauss-indicted-on-fraud-charges.ece

[3] http://www.dallasnews.com/business/headlines/20100408-With-Las-Vegas-on-Dallas-dealmaker-3853.ece