Former St. Charles County Developers Indicted on Fraud Charges

ST. LOUIS—The United States Attorney's Office announced today that Thomas Colvin and Kristaq Gjordeni, owners of Englewood I Development LLC, have been indicted on bank fraud charges.

According to the indictment, Colvin and Gjordeni obtained a loan to purchase land for the development of The Bluffs at Green Chutes in St. Charles County. In March 2006, Sun Security financed Englewood's land acquisition and development for 45 acres located on Green Bottoms Road in St. Charles, Missouri. The original loan was for $3,818,750 but was later increased to $5,159,000. The purpose of the loan was to develop the 45-acre tract into 33 single-family lots. The funds were disbursed from an escrow account based upon requests from Colvin and Gjordeni. The indictment states that by late 2007, all of the funds had been disbursed, but the development had not been completed. The indictment further states that the bank requested a listing of the disbursements and discovered that substantial funds had been paid to Englewood, Colvin, and Gjordeni, including more than $500,000 paid to Englewood for "Administration" and approximately $168,000 paid to Colvin and Gjordeni for "Supervision." These disbursements had not been included in cost estimates relied on by the bank in closing on the loan. According to the indictment, the bank discovered that Colvin and Gjordeni had used loan funds to pay on loans and other expenses unrelated to the Bluffs project.

THOMAS COLVIN, Lake Ozark, Missouri, and KRISTAQ GJORDENI, St. Louis, Missouri, were each indicted on three felony counts of bank fraud.

If convicted, bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and/or fines up to $1,000,000. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Reginald Harris is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.