Dallas Real Estate Investment Firm President Sentenced to 15 Years for $39.5 Million Fraud Scheme

DALLAS - A former "We Buy Ugly Houses" franchise owner who served as president of a Dallas-based real estate investment firm has been sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison for a yearslong fraud scheme that targeted more than 80 investors.

Charles Carrier, 67, was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr. He was also ordered to pay $24,416,911.16 in restitution to his victims.

Carrier pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Oct. 30, 2025.

According to federal court documents, Carrier operated the real estate investment scheme from at least 2018 through 2024. Prosecutors said he solicited money from investors by telling them their funds would be used to purchase, renovate and resell specific residential properties.

Carrier intended to defraud investors of approximately $39.5 million through the scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas.

Investors were told their loans would be secured by first-position liens on the properties. In many instances, however, prosecutors said Carrier did not record the promised deeds of trust.

He also issued multiple deeds of trust involving the same properties and concealed overlapping financial claims on the properties from investors, according to court documents.

Federal prosecutors said Carrier sometimes sold properties without notifying investors who believed their money was secured by those properties. He also used forged or unauthorized lien releases to facilitate property sales.

Instead of using all of the money as represented to investors, Carrier diverted funds to personal expenses and unrelated business costs and used money from investors to make payments to earlier investors, prosecutors said.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said the victims included families, retirees and small business owners.

"Financial fraud isn't just numbers on a ledger. It's a direct assault on hardworking Americans who trusted an alleged expert with their savings," Raybould said.

The FBI Dallas Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas B. Brasher of the Fraud Section prosecuted it.