Former CEO and President of Wextrust Capital Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 160 Months in Prison for Real Estate Investment Fraud Scheme
PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that STEVEN BYERS, the former president and chief executive officer of the private equity firm WexTrust Capital, LLC (“WexTrust Capital”), was sentenced today to 160 months in prison on charges stemming from a fraud that raised more than $9 million from investors in private placement real estate offerings. BYERS, 48, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by U.S. Court of Appeals Judge DENNY CHIN. Manhattan U.S. Attorney PREET BHARARA said: “Steven Byers used smoke and mirrors to defraud his investors out of millions of dollars. But his scheme was ultimately exposed for the sham that it was, and now he will be punished severely for his crimes.” According to the indictment and other documents previously filed in Manhattan federal court: From 2003 to 2008, WexTrust Capital was a globally diversified private equity company specializing in investments in real estate and specialty finance oppo...