El Paso man gets 25 years in prison in container home business fraud scheme
An El Paso man was sentenced to more than two decades in prison for defrauding at least 41 customers of $2.5 million through a fake container home business he and a California man were operating, officials said.
Leslie Robert Burk, of El Paso, was sentenced May 30 to 25 years in prison in connection with 23 wire fraud and money laundering charges in a scheme to steal money from customers who believed they were buying container homes, said officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
His codefendant, Ethan Sturgis Day, of Idyllwild, California, was sentenced to nine years in prison on 22 counts.
The men were convicted by a jury on June 22, 2022.
Burk was convicted of attempt and conspiracy to commit mail fraud, for which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison; 12 counts of fraud by wire, radio or television, receiving 20 years in prison on each count; eight counts of engaging in monetary transactions, receiving 10 years in prison on each count; and two counts of conceal assets, false oath and claims bribery, receiving five years in prison on each count.
The first 21 counts will be served concurrently, while the two counts of conceal assets, false oath and claims bribery will be served after he completes his prison time on the other charges, court records show.
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Day was convicted of attempt and conspiracy to commit mail fraud, receiving a sentence of nine years in prison; 12 counts of fraud by wire, radio or television, receiving nine years in prison on each count; and nine counts of engaging in monetary transactions, getting nine years in prison on each count.
Day will serve his sentences concurrently.
Burk, 55, and Day, 59, operated Atomic Container Homes Inc. and other similarly named businesses.
The men were accused of creating a business website to entice people into contracts for the manufacture of container homes and other shipping container products, officials said.
Burk and Day never delivered many of the homes or delivered subpar homes to the customers, officials said.
An investigation into the two men was launched after FBI agents found multiple former clients of Burk and Day who believed they had been defrauded.
The investigation revealed the men defrauded at least 41 victims for a combined total of more than $2.5 million, officials said. Several victims spent thousands of dollars believing they would get the container homes they purchased, but never received anything they contracted for.
“Claiming to own a legitimate business for the sake of defrauding unsuspecting victims is a reprehensible crime and one that my office will continue to prosecute in order to protect our citizens from fraud and financial exploitation,” U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Jaime Esparza said in a statement. “This sentencing holds the defendants accountable for their fraudulent scheme while providing restitution to the victims. I appreciate the efforts of our partners at the FBI for their role in the investigation, ultimately leading to the successful outcome of this case.”
According to a federal indictment, the men lied to customers about several issues, including the credentials of their employees; past and current contracts of Atomic Container Homes Inc.; construction Atomic Container Homes Inc. completed; and the reasons for delays on customers' projects.
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They also allegedly showed photos and plans they claimed were made by their company, but the photos were actually taken from other companies. The indictment states the men would list false contracts on their website to make it look like their company was legitimate.
The men pressured customers to wire money for shipping containers for the customers' projects, and then used the containers for other customers' projects, the indictment states.
They also allegedly would threaten legal action, including lawsuits, when customers would request refunds or request to terminate their projects as provided by the terms of their contracts, the indictment states.
When customers would ask to visit the company's facility in El Paso, the men allegedly would claim they were working on federal projects that required top secret clearance.
They also would suggest that any disgruntled customers could be arrested by the FBI for coming onto the company's premises, the indictment states.
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“Out of pure greed, Burk and his co-conspirator, Day, defrauded consumers of a basic and essential product which is providing homes to families," FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey R. Downey said in a statement. "They victimized many hardworking people and businesses, not only from El Paso, but across the nation.
"Their sentencing shows the FBI will not tolerate financial predators living off empty promises for their own personal gain, and we will seek justice for all financial fraud victims, regardless of whether they are located in El Paso or the rest of the country.”
A restitution hearing is scheduled for July 11.
Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso man sentenced to prison in container home fraud scheme
