Texas Home Builder Mike Kelly Confesses to Fraud at Maravilla

By DeeinAustin™

Here's a quick riddle. What does Boxer Mike Tyson and Maravilla Home Builder Mike Kelly have in common? ANSWER: They both thought they were invincible, but were eventually smacked down by the legal system for beating up on the little guy.

MARAVILLA SCOOP: BEGINNING OF THE END!

The Texas Residential Construction Commission took action against a Maravilla home builder Mike Kelly and Primera Homes.

Mike Kelly and Primera are officially barred from working in the Texas home building industry for two decades. I was also told that Mike signed a 38-page confession, to be posted on the TRCC website soon.

TRCC PRESS RELEASE, PRIMERA HOMES FRAUD

Commission Levies Most Stringent Penalty Against Austin-Area Builder. 13 Other Builders Across State Also Penalized

At its February 13, 2008, meeting, the Texas Residential Construction Commission revoked the registration of Austin-area builder Primera Homes Ltd. According to an agreement with the commission, the company’s owner, Michael Kelly, is prohibited from working in the residential construction industry in Texas for 20 years.

"The commission took action against Primera Homes for committing multiple violations, including misappropriating trust funds in numerous instances and using false advertisements."~TRCC Press Release 2/13/08.

Primera Homes was responsible for several Austin-area subdivisions, most notably the troubled Maravilla community...

WHAT'S NEXT FOR MIKE KELLY,MICHAEL BREON AND MARAVILLA HOMES?

According to my sources, Mike will get paid $6k per month doing project management for the proposed Thanksgiving Mountain condo project on Lake LBJ in Horsehoe Bay, working for his father.

The home owners who were defrauded have KVUE television reporter, Christine Haas, to thank for pushing this issue to the foreground. Christine's coverage really got the attention of the right people. The FBI is now investigating a potential lending scam behind Maravilla.

INTERESTED IN MORE ABOUT THE MARAVILLA FRAUD? READ MORE...

Exclusive! Track the full story here, along with comments from home owners and indicted lender, Michael (Mike) Breon.

• Christine Haas' KVUE Story about Maravilla.
• Ripoff Report on Mike Kelly, Maravilla and Primera Homes.
  
• Maravilla Blogs Background on the Issue.
• Read about the Maravilla bankruptcy (November 2007).
• Gotcha Guide™: What You need to know about Mortgage Fraud.
• View the full press release from the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC).

Comments

[Not a Mike Kelly Fan]

Correct me if I am wrong but can't this crook just do business under someone else's name... like his father and Thanksgiving Mountain?
For all the harm he has caused so many people, is this really all that will happen to him?

[Dee Copeland]

I think the problem is that he is only banned from building homes. I got the feeling that it doesn't mean he can't work on a job site.

UPDATE 4pm: I read the TRCC agreement and it verified that he can't work for real estate entities in Texas. The problem, though, is that he can still build condos since that's not in TRCC jurisdiction. It also means someone would have to report him since there's no "TRCC police".

[Dee Copeland]

Here's another snafu...the Texas Residential Construction Commission has no jurisdiction over condos, so Mike Kelly will be at it again as long as he doesn't build HOUSES.

He can work on job sites as long as he builds condos. Wow.

[Yet another Maravilla victim]

Dee - thank you for bringing attention to the Maravilla fraud on your blog. You allowed victims to present their story to the public, when other media outlets seemed to ignore this travesty. Hopefully the pain that my family & many others have suffered will deter homeowners and investors from falling for similar scams in the future.

[SORRY! SECTION REMOVED DUE TO UNSUBSTANTIATED CLAIMS]

Let's hope that the TRCC action is just the beginning for these criminals - as I know law enforcement agencies are investigating.

Good luck to all that are now trying to pickup the pieces from this mess.

[Dee Copeland]

My heart goes out to the families affected by this. I know some initially didn't want the attention, but there was no other way to make the justice departments pay attention.

Christine Haas promised a follow up story that will air soon. I know this won't necessarily help your position and many of you did your due diligence. There's a lot of people behind you and I'll do what I can to keep track of this story. I won't forget the pain that Mike Kelly caused and I won't let this story drop until we see resolution.

This is just one single instance of good people being blatantly taken advantage of in real estate. Fraud is a lot more prevalent than we think and I'm one of the people who won't take it sitting down.

[Paul Francis]

Unfortunately I've come across developers that get banned from one state and just end up in another.