WHEELING — In a sweeping federal criminal indictment against Roxby Development majority owner Jeffrey James Morris this week, officials from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI and the IRS painted Morris as someone who defrauded investors, employees and others of millions of dollars.

“He had an intent to defraud people, and we will prove that in court,” U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld said on Wednesday.

Morris, 36, of Wheeling, was indicted Tuesday in U.S. District Court by a special grand jury on 28 counts of wire fraud and tax evasion.

The federal indictment came as a culmination of efforts by a team of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Earlier this month, federal officials investigating Morris and Roxby’s labyrinth of questionable business dealings learned that he was intending to travel out of the country.

He was arrested before he could do so and charged with one count of wire fraud. Morris surrendered his passport and was released under terms and conditions imposed by Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.

On Wednesday, officials said Morris remains free under those same conditions imposed by the court and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

He waived an initial appearance on the indictment, and the court has already issued a scheduling order. A trial in the case has been set to take place at 9 a.m. on Nov. 14 in the federal courthouse in front of U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey.

The first 18 counts in the indictment alleged wire fraud through “a scheme” that “deprived investors of at least approximately $5 million without regard to the interest that Morris promised. Counts 19 through 23 allege willful failure to pay taxes to the IRS that were withheld from employee paychecks in the amount of approximately $163,000 and counts 24 through 28 allege failure to pay Federal Insurance Contribution Act or FICA taxes from employee checks in the amount of approximately $89,000.

Officials said each wire fraud count carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years. The tax evasion counts carry a five-year maximum sentence, with a maximum of one year for each FICA tax count, officials noted.

“There were a wide variety of people who were fleeced – people from this area and from other parts of the country,” Ihlenfeld said, noting that there were at least 20 investors – many local people and investors from at least two other states – who provided money toward Roxby’s ventures between the fall of 2020 and summer of 2022.

During that time, Morris had emerged as a player in the current renaissance of the city – purchasing several local landmarks like the Mt. Carmel Monastery, the Scottish Rite Cathedral and The McLure House Hotel to renovate them and be part of a widespread revitalization that has been taking place.

“Jeffrey Morris and Roxby Development appeared to be very much a part of that turnaround of the city of Wheeling … for a couple of years,” Ihlenfeld said. “There was a lot of buzz about what he was doing. His acquisition of historical properties and his promise to restore those buildings to their former glory created excitement.”

Morris was able to secure major investments toward these ventures which were ultimately intended to bring more people to downtown Wheeling.

“In order to build trust and in order to induce people to invest in his projects, he became a regular in the area’s social scene,” Ihlenfeld said. “He hosted regular events at the Scottish Rite Cathedral – one of the properties that he acquired. He had a chef that prepared meals.”

Officials said Morris entrenched himself into circles of influential people, convincing investors near and far to buy into his vision.

“It was easy to get caught up in the hype,” Ihlenfeld said. “His employees certainly were excited to be part of Roxby Development. They liked that they were being paid, but they liked being part of something that was perhaps going to turn the city around.”

While the bulk of the losses to Roxby’s financial dealings was from investors, several people who had been employed by Roxby Development, Roxby Labs and other related companies operated by Morris – eventually did not get paid.

“Many people were hurt by Jeffrey Morris,” Ihlenfeld said. “We have people who simply didn’t get their paychecks. They are victims as well in this case. People that lived paycheck to paycheck couldn’t put food on the table, couldn’t pay their utility bills and couldn’t pay their rent.”

Some Roxby employees believed in Morris’s vision so much, they also invested their own money into his projects, Ihlenfeld said, noting that a number of contractors performed work for Roxby and did not get paid.

“Some very sophisticated people were taken,” he noted. “People from all walks of life were taken by him. He was very smooth and persuasive, and was able to convince a lot of people to buy into his vision and invest in him.”

While many people believed in Morris while millions of dollars appeared to be invested into renovation projects, there were skeptics as well, officials said. The numbers did not seem to add up for an upstart company that was spending extravagantly. At one point, Morris publicly claimed that the payroll for Roxby’s companies had reached $4 million.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office became concerned as well, Ihlenfeld said, and officials began looking into Roxby’s dealings. In July 2022, a whistleblower came forward, and investigators began interviewing people who were not initially on their radar.

Employees’ pay began lagging, and people began to bail from Roxby.

Cash flow was misrepresented to investors, and those who did provide money were often told investments were going for a certain project, yet the money was being used to pay off outstanding debts for other projects, federal officials said.

“We’re seeking a money judgment of at least $5 million,” Ihlenfeld said. “We’re going to do everything we can to recover as much as we can for as many victims as we can. I don’t pretend to be optimistic about that, but we’re going to leave no stone unturned in order to find anything that we can to recover as much as we can for the victims.”

Legal actions were taken earlier this year to foreclose on both McLure Hotel and the Scottish Rite Cathedral after Roxby failed to meet the terms of seller-financed purchase agreements. Both properties were returned to their previous owners. Morris had filed for bankruptcy, but a judge tossed the cases, noting that Roxby did not have necessary insurance coverage on either building.

“Mr. Morris is accused of taking advantage of innocent investors and creating a deceptive scheme for his own personal gain,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall. “The FBI will relentlessly pursue those who attempt to defraud and mislead people in our community.”

Ihlenfeld said he believes Wheeling’s renaissance is taking place with millions of dollars worth of public and private money being poured into economic development efforts in town. He indicated that the vision of a prosperous new chapter in Wheeling’s history will indeed be realized.

“It’s going to happen because of honest people making honest investments with their own hard-earned money, not trying to take shortcuts and not trying to trick people into giving them money,” Ihlenfeld said. “That’s not how this city is going to get turned around. It’s going to get turned around with people doing it the right way.”