Adebanjo Popoola, a former building inspector with the City of St. Louis, has pleaded guilty to diverting about $1.64 million in public funds intended for the rehabilitation of rundown buildings to himself and members of his family.
The 57 year old admitted to three counts of wire fraud on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in St. Louis.
According to court records cited by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Popoola managed critical aspects of two city funded rehabilitation programmes, Stable Communities STL and Prop NS, during his time as a building division inspector.
Stable Communities STL was financed through the federal American Rescue Plan Act to rehabilitate privately owned properties, while Prop NS used city issued bonds to renovate residential properties owned by the City of St. Louis’ Land Reutilization Authority.
As part of his responsibilities, Popoola selected properties for rehabilitation, prepared project scopes, reviewed bids, approved contractors, inspected completed work and certified projects for payment.
Prosecutors said Popoola orchestrated a scheme in which his sister, who lives in Texas and had never visited St. Louis, registered Farst Construction LLC in Missouri in October 2022. His future wife also formed Premier Finish Contractors LLC in February 2021.
Between June 2023 and November 2024, Farst Construction was awarded approximately $1.4 million in Stable Communities STL contracts and another $339,500 through Prop NS. During the same period, Premier Finish Contractors received roughly $1.3 million in Stable Communities STL contracts and about $853,100 in Prop NS contracts.
Authorities said Farst and Premier together received 42 percent of the $7.19 million distributed under the Stable Communities STL programme.
Investigators found that several projects billed by the companies were either incomplete or not carried out according to contract requirements, despite Popoola certifying that the work had been properly completed.
After subcontractors were paid, prosecutors said Popoola, his wife and his sister shared about $1.64 million in public funds. The money was deposited into joint bank accounts held by Popoola with his wife and sister.
Popoola admitted using the diverted funds to pay residential mortgages, purchase and repair vehicles, fund travel, finance his September 2023 wedding in Hawaii, gamble at casinos and cover dining and entertainment expenses.
He also admitted concealing his connection to the companies by falsely stating in City Employee Secondary Employment Questionnaires submitted in 2022 and 2023 that he had no personal interest in any city contract or business.
His wife and sister also falsely certified on contract documents that: “No officer, employee, or member of the governing body of the City of St. Louis, Missouri who exercises any functions or responsibilities in connection with the carrying out of the Project to which this Contract pertains shall have any private interest, direct or indirect, in this contract.”
Popoola is scheduled to be sentenced on October 6.
Each wire fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. He will also be required to repay the misappropriated funds.
The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the City of St. Louis Comptroller’s Office, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith is leading the prosecution.
