Developer Soule given prison time for fraud
A former Lewiston developer will spend 14 months in prison for fraud and embezzlement of federal housing funds. Travis Soule misappropriated nearly $200,000 in federal housing funds between June 2007 and May 2008.
Soule, who now lives in Brunswick, was sentenced yesterday to prison time and three years of probation, according to the Sun Journal. An investigation found that Soule received $180,000 in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds for projects at three properties on Pine Street in Lewiston that he did not complete, but rather forged contractors' signatures and pocketed the money. He also embezzled money from the HOME Investment Partnership Program for low-income housing by using checks and vouchers for his own personal use. He pleaded guilty to two charges in U.S. District Court in June. Soule was also ordered to pay $40,802 in restitution to Camden National Bank and $139,198 to HUD.
At one time, Soule owned or managed about 600 housing units in Lewiston and Auburn and was previously involved in the city's proposed redevelopment of the Libbey Mill area, according to the paper.
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