A $3 billion youth sports and family entertainment campus planned for a site next to Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus is a scam, the FBI alleged Thursday as prosecutors arrested and charged the developer with orchestrating an investment fraud scheme.
Developer Kenneth Bardwell, 66, of West Bloomfield Township, blew most of the millions of dollars solicited from hundreds, if not thousands, of investors on strip clubs, luxury items, cars and living expenses for himself, his wife and girlfriend, federal prosecutors alleged in an unsealed criminal case. Bardwell is charged with wire fraud, a 20-year felony.
“Evidence collected throughout this investigation determined that Kenneth Wayne Bardwell has 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…,” the criminal case alleged.
Dubbed the Motown Sports Village, the 452-acre campus touted by Bardwell was described as the future home of an arena of up to 11,000 seats, plus a dozen basketball/volleyball courts and four hockey rinks that could be converted to soccer fields. It also was planned to have family entertainment offerings such as an arcade, bowling alley, rock climbing and an IMAX theater, officials with the project said.
“…Bardwell’s project is really an investment fraud scheme…,” FBI Special Agent Julia MacBeth wrote in the criminal case.
It was not immediately clear how much money Bardwell is accused of obtaining through fraud, but the cash appears to be all gone.
Bardwell made an initial appearance in federal court in Detroit on Thursday and was released on $10,000 unsecured bond. Instead of appearing with a hired attorney, Bardwell received a free court-appointed lawyer, Jean Pierre Nogues.
He did not respond immediately to a message seeking comment.
$3B project pitch included ask for 15-mill tax and limited 2% sales tax
The project drew headlines and attention in recent months. Developers said as recently as this spring that they hoped to begin construction in 2027 with some aspects of the campus opening to the public in 2029.
Bardwell and his advisers pitched Romulus officials in 2024 with a request for $152 million in public bonds, a plan that included a proposed 15-mill property tax increase “and a 2 % sales tax in a limited area of the city” to pay for the development, prosecutors alleged.
“This was denied, due to serious legal concerns with the proposed financing proposal,” the agent wrote.
Romulus Mayor Robert McCraight acknowledged those concerns Thursday, saying he initially supported the project idea in a bid to find more job creation, but backed off after “receiving numerous contacts forcing us to question the legitimacy of the development.
“The federal criminal charges appear to be the culmination of important work by federal law enforcement, which includes our referral of concerns that developed over time,” McCraight said in a Thursday statement.
“Today’s news is ultimately disappointing,” the mayor added, “but we will not tolerate what appears to be an attempt to take advantage of Romulus and its residents.”
Romulus Mayor Pro Tem Tina Talley, a City Council member, didn’t immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment.
The alleged scheme involved Bardwell telling investors he would use their money to buy land and develop Motown Sports, prosecutors said Thursday. The money would be returned to investors if the land needed for the project could not be purchased, but Bardwell spent the money on luxuries instead, the government alleged.
Feds detail how the developer allegedly spent cash on dancer, wife
Details about Bardwell’s generosity and an alleged “sugar daddy” relationship with his girlfriend are cited in the criminal case.
The girlfriend, a former exotic dancer, bragged about Bardwell, calling him “daddy” in social media posts.
“…I’m going to get a step board for my new 2025 Wrangler that daddy just bought me…,” one post reads.
“Daddy bought me a kitchen as big as my ego,” reads another.
In one post, the FBI says a man resembling Bardwell is shown pulling a large box out of a Chanel bag.
“Get your own daddy,” the caption reads, “he’s mines.”
Bardwell’s wife benefited, too, prosecutors said.
Bank records show numerous cash withdrawals from the Motown Sports business checking account, according to the government.
In many instances, the withdrawals included a handwritten note reading “large bills.”
Motown Sports also paid for the wife’s rent in an apartment in the same complex as Bardwell, the FBI said. Public records show they live in the Thornberry Apartments complex near W. Maple and Farmington roads.
Many of Bardwell’s employees were strippers, feds contend
Instead of an established office, Bardwell and the strippers worked out of a FedEx Office on Orchard Lake Road in an undisclosed city, the case alleged. Agents surveilled the store and took photos of Bardwell meeting with Motown Sports employees.
Those employees often worked as strippers.
Bardwell would recruit exotic dancers from area strip clubs to work for Motown Sports, according to the FBI. One stripper told investigators Bardwell would send her and employees on shopping sprees with $1,500 to buy whatever they wanted, the case alleged.
Bardwell was a big shopper, too, according to the FBI.
“Zeidman’s Jewelry and Loan showed Bardwell had made at least $420,000 in purchases of Rolex watches, purses and other jewelry,” the FBI agent wrote.
Bardwell also employed five area police officers to work as bodyguards and to “escort him everywhere,” the FBI agent wrote.
“Bardwell was highly paranoid of federal law enforcement and hired the police officers to protect him,” the agent wrote. “The police officers would escort Bardwell to strip clubs multiple times a week.
That included visits to the Landing Strip in Romulus as recent as July 9.
“Large amounts of cash were being thrown into the air from a table of Bardwell’s known associates,” the agent wrote.
Outside, Bardwell parked in the strip club’s VIP spot.
“When Bardwell departed the lounge, employees were heard saying ‘see you tomorrow’ to Bardwell,” the agent wrote. “Bardwell was escorted home by four vehicles registered to off-duty police officers.”
Developer went through $3M in quick order, FBI alleges
FBI agents analyzed bank accounts belonging to Motown Sports.
One business account shows more than $3.9 million deposited from June 2022 to July 2024, according to the government.
The money was withdrawn quickly, the FBI alleged.
“In 12 months of the 26-month review period, the account had a monthly ending balance of less than $1,000,” the agent wrote.
Almost $3 million was withdrawn from the Motown Sports account.
“…There were approximately $12,285 in high-end purchases from Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Neiman Marcus, and Foot Locker,” according to the FBI.
And $43,289 was spent at strip clubs in Dearborn and Romulus.
“There was no indication that any of the investor funds were placed into an escrow account with the intended purpose of purchasing land for the proposed project,” the FBI agent wrote.
A Motown Sports account at Huntington Bank held $4.4 million in deposits during a 14-month period. That included a mix of cash, checks from investors and transfers from other Motown Sports accounts.
One Detroit church, which is not identified in court records, invested $10,000, and the money was deposited in the account.
From that account, $122,890 was spent at area strip clubs and $110,000 was spent at luxury retailers, including Christian Louboutin and Louis Vuitton, the feds said.
rsnell@detroitnews.com
Staff Writer Kara Berg contributed.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: $3B Motown sports project near Detroit airport is a scam, feds say
Reporting by Robert Snell, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Snell, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
