LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The former owner of a troubled Little Rock apartment complex—Big Country Chateau—pleaded guilty on June 17 to engaging in an extensive, multi-year conspiracy to fraudulently obtain over $54.7 million in loans and to acquire multifamily and commercial properties.
53-year-old Aron Puretz and his Apex Equity Group reached a deal with federal prosecutors, admitting to a scheme that inflated the sale price of the Colonel Glenn complex and other properties.
While Puretz used Big Country Chateau as part of his scheme, the apartments became dilapidated and dangerous. The City of Little Rock has since worked to relocate tenants after a judge forced the property into receivership.
In July 2019, Puretz and his conspirators acquired Big Country Chateau under a hidden identity. The Office of the United States Attorney District of New Jersey said Puretz knew the lender, Freddie Mac, would not approve him as an owner, so he used the identity of an associate instead of his own.
According to officials, Puretz hid his ownership and involvement with the property management company from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other federal and state agencies.
Court documents show that Puretz's mortgage fraud conspiracy dates back to 2016 and includes providing fraudulent purchase and sale contracts in Lakewood, N.J., and falsifying statements to the City of Eureka, Ill., to receive a property tax exemption.
Puretz pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 30, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.