South Shore dealer funded ‘extravagant way of life’ with $11.6 million taken from purchasers and colleagues, prosecutors say

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Stephen Webster allegedly diverted tens of millions from escrow accounts to pay for playing bills, a ship, a Hawaii trip, and extra.

The proprietor of a now-defunct South Shore actual property agency allegedly diverted greater than $11.6 million from purchasers and workers in an effort to fund an “extravagant lifestyle” that included dear automotive purchases, a Hawaii trip, the lease on a Florida condominium, and extra.

Stephen Webster was indicted on 4 expenses in in Plymouth Superior Court in September. He faces expenses of fiduciary embezzlement, larceny by scheme over $1,200, witness intimation, and submitting a false monetary assertion, in accordance with court docket paperwork.

Webster was arrested as a fugitive from justice on Sept. 29 and is being held on the Palm Beach County Jail in Florida.

The particulars of Webster’s alleged crimes had been outlined in court docket paperwork filed by Assistant Plymouth District Attorney Alex Zane Wednesday.

Webster, who owned Success! Real Estate, engaged in a “consistent pattern of misuse” that concerned the routine use of escrow funds, the fees allege. These shopper deposits had been meant to be held in belief, however as an alternative had been utilized by Webster for a variety of enterprise and private bills, prosecutors stated.

Success! abruptly closed in December 2024. The following month, a dozen brokers who labored with Webster sued him, alleging that he withheld almost $500,000 in commissions and mortgage repayments from them. Those losses should not a part of the legal case.

The comingling of escrow accounts and others utilized by Webster dates again to no less than 2023. State investigators started trying into Success! in March of that 12 months. Webster allegedly confirmed them a cast financial institution letter displaying an escrow account that held about $1 million. In actuality, that account solely had about $7,000, in accordance with the court docket paperwork filed by Zane.

In January 2024, escrow funds turned the first supply of liquidity for Webster’s enterprise and checking accounts. Every month, he routinely diverted cash from escrow accounts to others in an effort to pay workers, utility payments, lease on a residence in Deerfield Beach, Florida, on line casino transactions, mortgage funds, Zelle transfers to members of the family, and extra, the fees allege. Some months, greater than 80% of the cash deposited into one enterprise checking account got here from escrow accounts. He typically moved greater than $1 million every month, prosecutors allege.

Although Webster diverted greater than $11.6 million from escrow accounts, he continued to tackle further borrowing. The timing of those advances and loans coincided with surges in escrow withdrawals, displaying that entrusted shopper funds had been the first supply of liquidity for each the enterprise and his private way of life, Zane wrote.

Webster used methods like “check-kiting” and “high-velocity transfers,” that are each “hallmarks of cash-flow manipulation inconsistent with lawful escrow management,” Zane wrote. The objective was to hide shortfalls and mission liquidity.

Webster made some huge purchases. In August 2024 he purchased a 2025 BMW 430i for greater than $70,000, making an $11,000 down cost regardless of already paying month-to-month for 2 Tesla Model 3 automobiles valued at greater than $121,000. He continued paying $8,250 a month in lease for the Florida condominium. He took a trip to Hawaii, and racked up greater than $65,000 in restaurant payments all through 2024, prosecutors stated.

While residing in Florida, Webster would often fly again as much as Massachusetts to “manage” his enterprise, typically staying at and playing in Encore on line casino in Everett. Last 12 months, he withdrew nearly $89,000 from on line casino ATMs, in accordance with the court docket filings.

His actions progressively moved from “fiduciary embezzlement into outright theft,” Zane wrote. The alleged scheme turned unsustainable in by November 2024, when Webster informed collectors that he was “essentially out of money.” He turned to workers for emergency money infusions. When Success! closed the next month, about $350,000 in excellent worker loans remained unpaid.

“Even after the company’s collapse in December 2024, the defendant continued making payments on luxury vehicles, jet skis, a boat, and personal credit cards rather than directing resources toward curing escrow shortfalls,” Zane wrote.

Webster made a “last-ditch” try to promote the corporate title in December 2024. During a gathering with potential patrons, he appeared “visibly unsettled” and admitted to a shortfall of about $970,000. One particular person on the assembly in contrast the ambiance to “the Titanic,” Zane wrote.

Webster can be going through a raft of civil litigation, which incorporates his ex-wife’s makes an attempt to implement the phrases of their divorce. Webster is obligated to pay $3,000 a month in alimony and $10,000 a month for the upkeep of her South Shore dwelling, in accordance with court docket data.