A Colorado guy found himself in hot water for allegedly pitching $4.8 million worth of bunk investments to about 80 folks to fund his house-flipping hustle. Here’s the scoop.
Mack Jamie Sprouse, a 57-year-old from the Rocky Mountain state, turned himself in after a probe by the Colorado Division of Securities. They laid out their case to a Jefferson County grand jury.
The Division dropped a press release saying Sprouse was handing out promissory notes like candy, pledging to pay back the dough with fat interest. But hold up—he wasn’t licensed to deal in securities in Colorado. Plus, these investments? Totally unsecured. As if that wasn’t enough, the guy didn’t even have the cash to pay back his investors.
Sprouse is now starring in an 11-count indictment for securities fraud. Not exactly the kind of show you want to headline.
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Urban Veneer Holdings LLC
Sprouse runs Urban Veneer Holdings LLC out of Lakewood. The outfit deals in “house flipping,” where you snap up homes, remodel them, and sell them for a sweet profit.
The Division didn’t hold back: “Sprouse made untrue statements of material fact and failed to disclose material facts to investors and engaged in business practices that operated as fraud and deceit,” they said. He basically spun tales about his plans for the investor cash and how he was funding Urban Veneer.
Financial Troubles Behind the Scenes
Public records indicate Urban Veneer Holdings got its start in 2020. But there’s trouble in paradise: six liens were filed against Sprouse or his biz since 2019 in Colorado. Not to mention, four civil suits in Jefferson County surfaced over the last two years. One creditor even claims Sprouse owes over $447,000. Yikes.
Sprouse managed to pay a $50,000 personal recognizance bond, getting out of jail the same day he was nabbed.
Legal Proceedings
The Colorado Attorney General’s Criminal Justice/Financial Fraud Unit is on the case, with a hearing marked on the calendar for June 8. We’ll have to see how that goes.
A Personal Tragedy
On a personal note, Sprouse’s family faced heartbreak when his son, Jordan Sprouse, died in 2014. The 18-year-old was killed by a DUI driver just weeks before graduating from Lakewood High School. The driver, trying to scare his wife, sped through red lights on Kipling Avenue, crashing and taking young Sprouse’s life. Alton Kirkland, the driver, is serving a 35-year stint in the Colorado Department of Corrections.
This tale is another layer, adding tragedy to Sprouse’s unfolding legal turmoil.
Logan Smith
For real-time updates, check out CBS Colorado.
