Eugene Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Newport Property Owners

A 46-year-old Eugene man pleaded guilty to wire fraud after admitting he defrauded several Newport property owners of more than $850,000 in a failed townhouse development project.

David Paul Williams pleaded guilty Monday in federal court, according to U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.

According to court documents, Williams used his companies, TreeNada Co. and Treenada Construction, to enter agreements with owners of vacant lots in Newport beginning in November 2020. Williams agreed to build townhomes on the properties.

Between 2020 and 2022, the property owners paid Williams more than $850,000 for the construction projects. The townhomes were never built.

Prosecutors said Williams sent the property owners email updates claiming progress was being made on the projects. Those updates were false and were used to mislead the victims into providing additional money.

Instead of using the money to build the townhomes, Williams used the funds for other projects, payments to a church he had previously defrauded and other pre-existing debts, according to court documents.

The total loss to the investors exceeded $850,000.

A federal grand jury in Eugene returned a 10-count indictment against Williams on June 20, 2024, charging him with wire fraud.

Williams faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 22, 2026, before a U.S. district court judge.

As part of his plea agreement, Williams agreed to pay full restitution to the victims.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Rykken is prosecuting the case.