Former St. Louis Building Inspector Accused of $1.6 Million Fraud

ST. LOUIS – A former building inspector with the City of St. Louis has been indicted and accused of steering $1.67 million meant for the repair of decrepit buildings in St. Louis to himself and relatives. Adebanjo “Banjo” Popoola was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Wednesday with three counts of wire fraud. He is in custody and will be in court Friday for his initial appearance. The indictment says that while a building division inspector with the City of St. Louis, Popoola steered money that was meant to renovate and rehabilitate privately-owned buildings into companies owned by his sister and his wife. Popoola had his sister, who lives in Texas and has no construction background, register a company in Missouri in October of 2022 called Farst Construction LLC. Popoola’s longtime paramour (and later wife) incorporated a Missouri business called Premier Finish Contractors LLC in February of 2021. The indictment says Popoola steered about $1.4 million to Farst from the city’s Stable Communities STL program and about $339,500 from the city’s Prop NS program for purported rehabilitation and stabilization work. Popoola caused about $1.3 million from the Stable Communities STL program and about $1 million from the Prop NS program to be awarded to Premier, the indictment says. Of the 59 contracts awarded through the Stable Communities STL program, Popoola caused 13 to be awarded to Farst and 10 to be issued to Premier, the indictment says, for a combined total of about 42% of the $7.99 million awarded. Of the 144 contracts awarded through the Prop NS program, Popoola caused 8 to be awarded to Farst and 23 to be awarded to Premier, the indictment says, for about 24% of the $5.6 million total. Stable Communities was funded through federal American Rescue Plan Act funds received by the city. Prop NS was funded through city-issued general obligation bonds. Farst and Premier did not perform the contracted work on multiple properties, but Popoola falsely certified to the city’s Comptroller that the work had been performed completely and properly, the indictment says. Popoola and his wife had one or more joint bank accounts where the city funds were deposited. He had the same arrangement with his sister. In one example provided in the indictment, when Farst received a $29,500 check from the Prop NS program in February of 2023, Popoola’s sister immediately issued herself a $15,000 check from the Farst business account and deposited it into her personal bank account, then immediately wrote a $10,000 check to Popoola. Popoola, his sister and his wife obtained about $1.67 million after paying subcontractors for purported work on the stabilization projects, the indictment says. Popoola used the money for residential mortgage payments, multiple vehicle purchases and repairs, travel expenses, his September 2023 Hawaii wedding, casino gambling, and other dining and entertainment expenses, the indictment says. Popoola lied on city documents when he falsely stated that he had no personal interest, directly or indirectly, in a contract with the City of St. Louis and that he had no interest in any business, the indictment says. His sister and wife lied on contract documents when they falsely claimed 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,” the indictment says.