A Nueces County jury took 15 minutes last week to find a Round Rock man guilty of real estate fraud. Yesterday, the judge in the case took even less time to sentence Everett Craig Williams to 20 years in state prison and pay $189,000 in restitution to investors in a fraudulent real estate program with victims in Nueces, Collin, and Harris counties.
The Texas State Securities Board accused Williams of multiple counts of real estate and securities fraud, including that he hid from investors the fact that he owed hundreds of millions of dollars in back taxes, unpaid civil judgments and child support.
Prosecutors said that Williams failed to inform investors that he used some of their money to pay personal expenses and that investors in previous investment programs he sold lost a significant portion of their funds.
Williams sold investment contracts and promissory notes issued by Favor Ministries Inc. that were supposed to generate returns from real estate transactions, according to court records. A Nueces County grand jury indicted Williams on a theft charge in 2017 at the same time it re-indicted him on the securities fraud charge.
A two-day trial ended last Thursday when the jury found Williams guilty of a first-degree felony securities fraud and second-degree theft.
Nueces County District Judge Bobby Galvan sentenced Williams to 20 years for the securities fraud conviction and 15 years for second-degree theft. The sentences will run concurrently.
During Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, prosecutors revealed that Williams also stole money from his family in a separate scheme. Prosecutors presented evidence that Williams acted as a “divorce mediator” and agreed to hold the settlement proceeds of more than $63,000 in trust until the divorce was final.
“Williams, however, stole the money and never returned it,” Texas Securities Board officials stated in a press release. “The victim was his niece. Prosecutors put on evidence showing that the funds were never held in trust but deposited to an account and spent on personal expenses, including vehicles and college tuition for his daughter.”
Officials at the Nueces County jail said that Williams is not available to make a comment for this article.