South Charleston Man Indicted on Federal Fraud, Money Laundering and Obstruction Charges

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A federal grand jury returned a 15-count indictment yesterday charging Theodore Miller, 34, of South Charleston, with wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction.

The indictment alleges that, beginning as early as October 2021, Miller conceived and perpetrated two fraudulent schemes to bolster his businesses' monthly cash flow and to pay unrelated personal and professional debts, obligations and expenses. As part of these schemes, Miller portrayed himself on social media as a wealthy and successful real estate mogul with enough disposable income to travel the world at his leisure. In reality, Miller had poor credit, thin month-to-month financial margins, was delinquent on property taxes and bills, and had defaulted on loans.

One scheme sought to defraud investors by inducing them to invest in two specific real estate projects located on Bigley Avenue in Charleston. One project proposed to rehabilitate a small residential property into a dry-storage lot, and the other proposed to develop duplex housing. Misrepresenting himself on social media as a wealthy and successful real estate investor, Miller created and shared false and misleading promotional materials for these direct investments. Between July 5, 2022, and September 8, 2022, Miller fraudulently induced several individuals to wire a total of $90,000 from California, Florida and Texas to him in Charleston for these projects. Upon receiving the investments, Miller did not proceed with either of the projects and in fact never owned any of the properties involved. Miller ceased all contact with the individuals after they began inquiring about the projects and the money they had invested.

Miller's other scheme sought to defraud investors by inducing them to invest in "Bear Lute," a pooled real estate investment vehicle. In or around May 2022, Miller launched Bear Lute and began directing his social media followers to invest through bearlute.com. Miller advertised Bear Lute as a way for ordinary people to invest in real estate and become wealthy and successful, like him. Miller made numerous misrepresentations through his social media posts, his website and one-on-one communications. Among other misrepresentations, Miller falsely that claimed Bear Lute generated exceptionally high and guaranteed returns, investors would receive a minimum return of 6 percent, the average investor historically received a return exceeding 20 percent, the investment was secured by income-producing real estate, and investors could request to withdraw their funds and receive them within 60 days.

Between June 30, 2022, and February 28, 2024, Miller fraudulently induced more than 100 individuals to invest in Bear Lute and obtained more than $200,000 in investor funds. The defrauded investors included two individuals who wired a total of $17,500 from Texas to Miller in Charleston. Nearly all of Miller's representations and promises about Bear Lute were untrue, including that he owned the property pledged as security for investors. Miller posted false figures on an online investor dashboard that purported to allow investors to track and manage their investments, and ceased all communications with investors who requested withdrawals. Miller also failed to disclose to Bear Lute investors that the West Virginia Securities Commission ordered him to cease and desist operating Bear Lute.

Miller directed most of the fraudulently obtained funds from both schemes toward personal expenses, private investments, and other business expenses. These expenditures were for the benefit of Miller and an individual identified in the indictment as D.D. A resident of Charleston, D.D. was as an active participant in Miller's businesses, held herself out as the vice president of the Miller-owned and operated Bear Industries LLC, and acted as Miller's agent while he was outside of the United States. Miller remained outside of the United States from on or about February 12, 2022, to on or about August 8, 2024.

On or about July 20, 2022, Miller engaged in and caused others to engage in a electronic transfer of $20,000 between the bank accounts of Bear Industries LLC and another business he owned and operated, T&C Construction LLC, knowing that the property involved in the monetary transaction was criminally derived. On August 11, 2024, Miller sought to have a backpack and a cell phone destroyed, concealed or altered.

Miller is charged with 12 counts of wire fraud, one count of money laundering and two counts of obstruction. If convicted, Miller faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count, 10 years in prison for money fraud, and 20 years in prison for each obstruction count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the West Virginia Fusion Center, the West Virginia Securities Commission, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Assistant United States Attorney Holly Wilson is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a parallel civil action yesterday against Miller, Bear Industries LLC, Bear Investments and Business Consulting LLC, and Deanna Drumm in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. The lawsuit alleges that Miller has engaged in the unregistered and fraudulent offer of securities related to his real estate-related investment programs since at least 2022, and that Miller's social-media persona and businesses were all a calculated fraud to divert investor funds for his own personal benefit. The lawsuit seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains and prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 2:24-cr-145 and 2:24-cv-479.

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