John Keith Hoover, age 64, of Mohave Valley, Ariz., was sentenced to 10 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton. His wife, Deborah B. Hoover, also 64, of Mohave Valley, Ariz, was convicted of conspiracy to commit bankruptcy fraud and was sentenced to one year of home confinement followed by five years of supervised release.
According to the Superseding Indictment, Defendant’s plea, and other filings, John Hoover was a homebuilder in Fort Mohave and surrounding areas. Hoover created nearly two dozen companies that he used to solicit money from Arizona and California investors for bogus real-estate developments beginning in 1997. Several investors were widows who gave Hoover control of the bulk of their estates based on his friendship with their families and because of the trust he developed as an attorney. Hoover told investors their money would go to specific real-estate developments and then diverted the money for his own personal use. In some cases, Hoover told investors that their money had been placed in secure loans while he actually used it to invest in his own high-risk, speculative real-estate ventures in Arizona.
Hoover encouraged investors to liquidate retirement accounts, life-insurance policies, mutual funds and securities, and Social Security death benefits to fund their investments with him. Hoover then used investor money to pay his living expenses. Among those expenses were a multimillion-dollar Newport Beach, Calif. home and a condominium; an apartment in Paris; a $200,000 Bentley Flying Spur and other high-end automobiles; jewelry; artwork; furnishings; high end hotels and restaurants; and lavish expenditures for family members living in Paris, France. Hoover also took vacations disguised as business trips to Hawaii, China, South America, and Europe.
When Hoover ran out of money, he refinanced properties with false representations about salary, assets, liabilities, employment, and sources of down payments. Then, he and his wife filed bankruptcy while hiding assets. When the Hoovers were arrested, agents located numerous assets that had been concealed from the Bankruptcy Court.