A Nigerian-born engineer has pleaded guilty to defrauding the City of St. Louis, Missouri, by directing more than $1.64 million in public funds intended for housing rehabilitation projects to himself and members of his family.
Adebanjo "Banjo" Popoola, 57, entered a guilty plea on Tuesday, June 30, in the U.S. District Court in St. Louis to three counts of wire fraud.
According to court documents, Popoola worked as a building division inspector for the City of St. Louis, where he oversaw key aspects of two property rehabilitation programmes—Stable Communities STL and Prop NS. The programmes were created to fund the repair and stabilization of residential properties. Stable Communities STL was financed through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), while Prop NS was funded through city-issued general obligation bonds.
As part of his role, Popoola identified properties for rehabilitation, prepared project scopes, reviewed and awarded contracts, inspected completed work, and approved payments to contractors.
Prosecutors said Popoola arranged for his sister, who lives in Texas and had never visited St. Louis, to register Farst Construction LLC in Missouri in October 2022. His future wife had earlier established Premier Finish Contractors LLC in February 2021.
Between February 2023 and November 2024, Popoola directed multiple city contracts to the two companies. Farst Construction received approximately $1.79 million, while Premier Finish Contractors was awarded about $1.53 million. Together, the companies received roughly 42 per cent of the $7.19 million distributed through the Stable Communities STL programme.
Authorities said property owners and representatives of the City's Land Reutilization Authority reported that several rehabilitation and stabilization projects were either incomplete or never carried out, despite payments being made. Popoola admitted he falsely certified that the work had been completed to secure the release of funds.
After subcontractors were paid, Popoola, his wife and his sister allegedly shared and spent about $1.64 million from the programme funds. Investigators said the money was used for mortgage payments, vehicle purchases and repairs, travel, casino gambling, dining and entertainment, as well as Popoola's wedding in Hawaii in September 2023.
Court records also state that Popoola concealed his financial interest in the companies by falsely declaring on city ethics and employment disclosure forms in 2022 and 2023 that he had no ownership interest in any business and no direct or indirect interest in contracts with the City of St. Louis.
His wife and sister also signed contract documents stating that no city official connected to the projects had any private interest in the contracts, a claim prosecutors said was false.
Popoola is scheduled to be sentenced on October 6. Each wire fraud conviction carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He will also be required to repay the stolen funds.
The investigation was led by the FBI with assistance from the City of St. Louis Comptroller's Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith.
