WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) – 7News has more information about victims fleeced out of their money, allegedly by Jeffrey Morris and Roxby Development.
Earlier this week, the 28-count federal indictment was made public, charging the 36-year-old Morris with wire fraud and tax evasion.
Morris allegedly victimized his employees and investors in projects at the McLure Hotel, the Scottish Rite Cathedral and the Mt. Carmel Monastery.
But there were apparently other victims, who were neither employees nor investors.
“We have contractors who were vendors, they weren’t employed by him necessarily, but they wanted to see projects through to the end. So when they went to Lowe’s and the credit card didn’t work from Roxby, and they needed to get some supplies to get this particular project done, they went ahead and swiped their own credit card to get the supplies they needed because they felt they would be reimbursed in the end for whatever materials they needed. And they’re still waiting to get paid as well.”
U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld
US District Court, Northern District of West Virginia
Ihlenfeld said Morris’ promises of historic preservation and new businesses created excitement in Wheeling for a while. He said Morris worked his way into the circles of influential people locally and in other states. And he convinced his employees they were part of a huge rebirth.
Ihlenfeld said a whistleblower came forward last year, and that disclosure led to the investigation and findings that people had allegedly been tricked out of millions of dollars.
