Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against former Milwaukee businessman Joseph Nantomah, accusing him of running a fake fix-and-flip real estate scheme that defrauded investors of more than $1.9 million.
According to federal court documents, Nantomah was arrested in Florida late last week. He's been denied bail, and a judge has ordered that he be transferred to Wisconsin.
TMJ4's Andrea Albers has been uncovering an alleged trail of fraud by Nantomah going back to 2024. Since then he's been civilly sued by former investors and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
This newest criminal complaint is the federal government laying out how they say Nantomah deceived investors, misused money, and used interstate wire communications, like bank transfers, to do it.
The newly filed criminal complaint reveals the FBI has been investigating Joseph Nantomah since February of 2025 and alleges he ran the fix-and-flip real estate scheme through four LLCs, spending a significant portion of investor funds on vehicles and boats, jewelry and luxury travel, even Ponzi-style repayments to earlier investors.
A financial analysis by the FBI found that at least 32 individuals and businesses invested over $1.9 million with Nantomah between 2020 and 2024. AxePoint Law in Milwaukee has filed nearly two dozen civil lawsuits on behalf of those investors.
"These are real people. They may be identified as victim 1, victim 2, victim 3, victim 4. I know them by name. I know their stories. I know what they've had to forego, what they've had to go through, and so we intend to ensure that the humanity and the real human loss of all of this remains at the forefront of the entire case and situation," said attorney Emil Ovbiagele, managing shareholder at AxePoint Law.
Over the course of a year, TMJ4 has tried to track Nantomah down, visiting home and office addresses, calling and emailing. He responded once, writing in part: "I have never stolen any investors' funds."
TMJ4 has spoken to several former investors, including a couple who lost more than $100,000, shattering their retirement dreams.
"I would never call anyone the devil. He's the devil," the wife said.
After hearing the news of Nantomah's arrest, the couple says they're relieved, hoping it protects others.
The criminal complaint focuses on a single allegation of wire fraud, but the indictment, the big, detailed charging document, is still to come.
In federal cases, an indictment must generally be filed within 30 days of an arrest, so the clock has started.
TMJ4 will be following updates on this case.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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