It's always fun to play developer/investor until someone gets screwed. WATE.com, based out of Knoxville, featured just such a story on the evening news, Wednesday.
Mr. Sterling Webb at Sterling Springs in Sevierville, TN, would pay unwary owners huge amounts of rent (regardless of how much - or not much - the unit actually rented) during their first months of ownership. The owners would be so impressed, they couldn't wait to buy another three-bedroom cabin... Good thing, too, because Mr. Webb needed that money to pay the other owners the huge rents. And he would need more lot/cabin sales to pay the new owners.
Apparently, Mountain National Bank happily went along with all of this, funding construction loans for units that might not be built for a while.
Fast forward a couple of years into the future ~ 2009 to be precise: Times are hard, sales are down, owners aren't getting very much money ~ and now the owners are finding out about things.
...wonder how much Sterling Webb has in his escrow account, today. Gee, i also wonder if Mr. Webb has a VLS license, as required by the State of Tennessee? Gosh, i wish the State would give a damn.
I would lust like to add that the investors were not the only ones screwed by Sterling. A local lumber supplier was screwed out of over 100K in logs and other materials
ReplyDeleteThis does not surprise me one bit. He probably fast-talked the contractors from the gravel company to the trim carpenters.
ReplyDeleteAt least Sterling Webb could afford a full-page ad in the Knoxville News Sentinel last month for his new zip line at Sterling Springs. I wonder if anyone got screwed on that project?
Yes we lost our hard earned money, and now we live in an apartment and dream about buying a home that we cannot because of his lies and our purchase. Not only did he not pay us, he stole all of our appliances, blinds, electrical fixtures and more to put in another cabin, we only know this because he and his partner Victor Milton had a fight and he let us know. I gave the serial number to my appliances to the Sevier county police along with the cabin that the items were put in. Still waiting for prosecution. We should sue him. Thanks for this Blog.
ReplyDeletePlease, please call Don Dare at Channel 6! He is probably ready to do an update on Mr. Webb's shenanigans.
ReplyDeleteHave Mr. Dare interview Jimmy Dunn, the District Attorney for Sterling's area. I daresay people would come out of the woodwork... people who are looking for Sterling Webb, themselves.
[ And thank YOU for being the first person to ever thank me ~ you are SO welcome!]
The man is a lier and a cheat.Do not do business with this man or his many company's,you will lose your money.
ReplyDeleteDo not do business with this man you will lose your money.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree. We handled advertisement for him in 2008 and still haven't been paid.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Sterlings luck and money has run out,Vacation club laying people off left and right,better hurry up and get the lawsuits filed.Karma caught up too them.
ReplyDeleteWahoo Vacation Club that Sterling Webb owns has closed it's doors as of Friday the 25th of June,but as a parting gift to his employees he did not pay them.Wonder what his new scam will be now since nobody in Severville will do business with the con-man anymore.We can just hope someone will call the labor board and the feds will get him.
ReplyDeleteWe built the swimming pool and didn't get paid.
ReplyDeletedoes anyone know how to find Vic Melton?
He personally guanteed payment.
Vic is a smooth talker. Sterling Webb's scheme is to falsify rental records and pay an owner MORE money than they actually earned, until that owner is comfortable signing a contract to purchase another unit.
ReplyDeleteSterling takes the new purchase agreement to the bank to get the construction loan, and then uses the construction loan money to pay the brand new owners the falsified amount.
If Vic wasn't the mastermind behind this Ponzi ritual, he was at the very least the person who saw to the perpetration of it.
But of course, Vic didn't tell you all this as he was personally guaranteeing the payment for the pool.
Can you hit 'em where it hurts and go get your pool back?
Sterling Webb learned from his Father...Another rip-off artist.
ReplyDeleteBack in the 90s' I paid Sterling $300.00 for some top-soil.He waited until I went to work before He brought it because it was red clay with rocks and stumps in it..He started at an early age ripping People off..He was busted in the 80s' for cutting the phone-lines at certain shops at West-Town Mall..The reason? So Him and his crooked Cop Friend could use fake Credit cards and the shops would go ahead and charge the items because they couldn't verify the accounts and were needing to make a sell..How do I know this? He is my cousin.
ReplyDeleteSomething i've always wondered about is if Sterling Webb is really a Sevier County homeboy.
ReplyDeleteThe Webbs i know are good people; and, you can't choose your relatives.
It is, in my humble opinion, a sorry S.O.B. who won't at least take care of his 'cuz.
We were at Sterling Springs last Thursday - we attended a vacation club presentation to get some free zip line tickets. They weren't calling it the Wahoo Vacation Club, but I can't remember the name they were using. Is this the same con game with a different name, or are these new sellers with a legit vacation club?
ReplyDeleteJonahBlue, have you seen this article about Mr. Webb:
ReplyDeletehttp://hammerandafeather.blogspot.com/2010/03/sterling-webb-jumps-shark.html
At the bottom, it talks about Sterling working under the name of Skytrek.
Also, he's building under another name. I'll dig out that info and make a new post about it, soon.
Because i'm slinging so much mud in his direction, i try to be careful that i only post verifiable information about him.
He is from knox county...Ford valley road.The prick is not from sevier.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about Mr.Webb,He has fucked the wrong person..He has the green-light on Him..It's done.
ReplyDelete@Anon 8:36
ReplyDeleteI wonder how he became so tight with the cops in Sevier County?
That says a lot for the cops in Sevier County, heh?
Yeah, we're one more local company he didn't pay. Still owes us from December 2009. Guess we won't be getting that money.
ReplyDeleteSterling is at it again trying to get some things through MPC ... wouldn't it be good if those over at MPC could get a look at this...
ReplyDelete@1:09 PM ~
ReplyDeleteDo you mean the Metro Planning Commission in Knoxville?
Yes Metro Planning commission not sure which guessing Sevier... Issue pending around projects at French Broad River...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.themountainpress.com/view/full_story/11287393/article--Zipline-over-French-Broad-River-gets-planning-commission-OK-?
ReplyDeletehope this helps someone.
He's doing a new zipline at the river using all undocumented workers and with questionable engineering. Someone will get killed on that contraption he has built. I hear it's a good place to buy your drugs from his Mexican buddies. How does this guy keep getting away with screwing over everyone he comes in contact with? He's like Sevier County's own little Bernie Madoff.
ReplyDeleteYea, it will fail to he cant handle money,His buddy's Ivan and Chris will take care of him they got them a timeshare/vacation club in P/F be just like Wahoo Vacation Club out of business and oweing everybody in town,he taught them well.
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