A West Bloomfield man is accused of scamming millions in investment funds for a billion-dollar fake sports and entertainment project in Romulus and then spending the cash on strip clubs, luxury goods and items for his wife and girlfriend, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.
The stolen loot includes at least $200,000 toward strip clubs and at least $420,000 alone at Zeidman’s Jewelry & Loan, according to federal officials.
Kenneth Bardwell, 66, is charged with wire fraud in an extensive scheme that authorities say began in October 2018. Bardwell stole millions of dollars from investors through a company he operated called “Motown Sports Group Holdings,” the complaint states. Bardwell even rallied the city of Romulus to get on board before the plan was ultimately denied.
When Bardwell pitched the project, he allegedly told investors their money would be used to purchase the 450-plus acres of land between Wick and Ecorse roads to develop the massive complex. If land couldn’t be purchased, he’d send the money back from an escrow account.
The complex would include, according to the complaint: an indoor football field, an adult day care center, four hockey rinks, an indoor tropical water surf park, a 10,000-seat arena, two IMAX theaters, a pet hotel, three full service hotels, Top Golf and a spa.
But Bardwell barely tried to follow through, the feds allege in the complaint filed July 14 and unsealed later in U.S. District Court in Detroit.
He “made almost no effort to use the millions of dollars solicited from hundreds, possibly thousands, of community members as investments towards the purchase of land needed to develop the project, instead using most of the investors’ money on gentleman’s clubs, luxury retail goods, rental cars, and living expenses for himself, his wife and his girlfriend,” the complaint reads.
The feds described Bardwell’s lavish lifestyle in the complaint, which includes dropping at least $10,000 every time he went to the strip club — which was often — and hiring police as his personal security to follow him around like he was “a celebrity” because he was paranoid of law enforcement.
He advertised the project as “metro Detroit’s future sports destination” that would bring jobs to the area — he allegedly asked “exotic dancers” to work for him — and solicited cash through billboards in Detroit, a website and crowdfunding site, and paid local TV ads with the tagline “you only fail when you stop trying,” the complaint states.
Shareholders had to sign nondisclosure agreements, the complaint adds, which a federal investigator noted is typical in fraud schemes.
When Bardwell presented his project to the city of Romulus in 2024, he asked for “$152 million in public bonds with a 15-mill tax increase and a 2% sales tax in a limited area of the city to pay for the proposed $1.44 billion development,” according to the complaint.
Bardwell’s plan was denied “due to serious legal concerns,” but he’d tell his investors that the deal was close to closing, the complaint states. Romulus Mayor Robert McCraight said the city was initially on board with the concept to support economic development. Bardwell even used McCraight’s support to advertise the project, the complaint states.
But when the city began receiving several calls questioning the legitimacy of the project, the city was forced to do the same, McCraight wrote in a statement released July 16.
“Most importantly, when the individual in question came asking for funds from our taxpayers, we said absolutely not,” McCraight said.
“My administration will continue to place economic development at the top of our priority list,” he added. “But we will not tolerate what appears to be an attempt to take advantage of Romulus and its residents.”
No attorney representing Bardwell was listed yet in court records.
Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at asahouri@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Feds: West Bloomfield man scammed for $10K strip club trips, luxuries
Reporting by Andrea May Sahouri, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Andrea May Sahouri, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
