FBI Press Release: Developer Pleads Guilty to Fraud Charges

For Immediate Release October 19, 2010	FBI Jackson Contact: Public Affairs Specialist Deborah Madden (601) 948-5000
Developer Pleads Guilty Daniel McMullen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Mississippi, and Donald R. Burkhalter, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, announced: On Tuesday, October 19, 2010, developer/business owner Ricky Douglas Deveny, age 52, pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud charges. His appearance this morning before United States District Judge Ozerden is the culmination of a federal investigation into fraudulent business and real estate activities conducted by Deveny from in or about June of 2005 until in or about November of 2006. Deveny was indicted by a federal grand jury in June of 2010, which charged him with intentionally devising and carrying out schemes to defraud and to obtain money or property from individuals and homeowners in Harrison and Hancock Counties. As part of this scheme, the indictment charged Deveny with creating numerous false and misleading real estate contracts in order to lure individuals into investing in his business, Sandstone Construction, Inc. In addition, the indictment alleged that Deveny promised victim homeowners that he would perform construction or home repair, charging and being paid various sums of money, and never performing the promised work. Many of these victims had suffered damage to their property as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Deveny is scheduled to be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. on January 27, 2011. This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Jackson Field Office, Gulfport Resident Agency, and prosecuted by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi. Press Releases | Jackson Home