ROANOKE, VA. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Virginia, Western), published as received.
ROANOKE, Va. – Tommie Lee Nelson, 65, of Miramar, Florida, was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Roanoke today and ordered detained on six counts of wire fraud, based on a two-year scheme that defrauded a Lynchburg doctor out of nearly a half million dollars. This arraignment follows Nelson’s initial appearance in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after FBI agents arrested him in July at his home near Miami.
According to the indictment, beginning around April 2020, the victim, a Lynchburg doctor, sought to purchase a commercial building in Danville, Virginia, in partnership with an agricultural cooperative. Nelson represented himself to the victim as a hard money lender who could assist in purchasing the building.
Through Nelson’s lies and machinations, he convinced the victim to wire him several payments from July 2020 and into 2021, ultimately totaling almost $500,000. Despite Nelson’s representations, these payments did not go toward the building purchase. Instead, the indictment alleges Nelson spent the victim’s money at casinos and for his personal benefit. By 2021, the purchase agreement had fallen through, and Nelson stopped responding to the victim’s calls.
In 2024, the victim won a civil judgment against Nelson’s corporation. In entering that judgment, the presiding United States district judge referred the case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for criminal investigation. If convicted, faces a maximum punishment of 120 years in federal prison.
United States Attorney C. Todd Gilbert made the announcement today.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Drew O. Inman is prosecuting the case for the United States.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law
