Texas man duped investors over fake Disney theme park
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A Texas man was convicted of duping investors with tales of a fake Walt Disney theme park and resort project.
Thomas W. Lucas Jr., a member of a Dallas-area real estate famiy, was convicted on seven wire fraud counts and one count of making false statements to the FBI. It took a North Texas jury less than a half day to come back with a verdict in the case.
Court documents say the 40-year-old Lucas showed investors fake and forged sketches, maps and site plans to build a future theme park. Lucas called the plans “Frontier Disney Dallas-Fort Worth. The investors complained they overpaid for land in two Texas counties, which they were planning to flip once Disney made the announcement of the park.
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Partnerships, joint ventures and limited liability companies were set to begin acquiring land. Lucas defrauded investors out of nearly $14 million. Lucas told these investors that he had a source saying Disney was planning to build the park in the metro area. Disney repeatedly denied those claims.
When the FBI questioned Lucas on the source, he gave them a name of a dead man.
In a statement, Lucas' uncle Harry "Beau" Lucas said the land parcels his nephew sold "are superior long-term investments." He said, however, that he and his family understand the investors' anger because his nephew "manipulated relatives and associates in his own family's company."
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The Associated Press contributed to this report