Home Builders, Broker Charged With Theft

Stuart and Nancy Thompson thought they were getting a deal on a big home priced at $370,000. But it was never built, and they are paying $700 a month for a $100,000 loan. (By Lois Raimondo -- The Washington Post)
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Glenn Miller, one of the 11 would-be buyers, said he had put down nearly $20,000 and was making payments on a loan for a house that was never built.

Standing several yards from where his home was to be, Miller said he was once on solid financial footing but is "just about living week to week."

"It's ruined my life," Miller, 39, said. "People don't know what my situation is like."

Stuart and Nancy Thompson said they thought they were getting a "good deal" when they saw the floor plans for a four-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath colonial priced at $370,000. It was to be their first home.

The house was never built, and the Thompsons are paying $700 a month for a $100,000 bank loan and $800 a year in county taxes for the land.

In 2005, the state attorney general's office won a civil lawsuit against the Colemans, who were ordered to pay about $500,000 in fines and to repay about $1 million of the money they are alleged to obtained. The Colemans have not complied, Ivey said.

He said he felt compelled to pursue the matter criminally.