Man Behind Beachcomber Redevelopment Scam Indicted In Federal Court

QUINCY, MA — The man who police say raised $1.7 million from 20 investors as part of a bid to buy the Beachcomber across from Wollaston Beach has been indicted in U.S. District Court.

Scott J. Wolas, known to investors as Eugene Grathwohl, faces seven counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. He was arrested in Delray Beach, Florida in April.

Wolas also accused of defrauding people for millions of dollars in Orlando and New York City. They alleged that the 67-year-old went by the name Allen L. Hengst and defrauded more than $6 million from clients as a stockbroker in Florida, the Boston Globe reported.

Prior to Florida, he used the name Scott J. M. Wolas and was a lawyer in New York. According to a 1996 investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, he was investigated for his alleged connection to $20 million in fraud. He went missing in 1997 and remained a fugitive for about 20 years.

Wolas was disbarred in 1999 and his firm reportedly settled a lawsuit with 20 investors for $6 million.

Between 2009-2016, Wolas worked as a real estate agent for Century 21 in Quincy and operated a real estate business known as Increasing Fortune. During his time in Quincy, he raised more than $1.7 million for the purchase and redevelopment of the Beachcomber and the construction of a single-family home on the adjacent property on Quincy Shore Drive, allegedly promising investors to pay out at least 125 percent of the profits related to the single-family home construction.

When the closing day came on Sept. 15, 2016, Wolas was nowhere to be found after leaving town a week earlier. Police say he was last seen at the JFK/UMass train station in Dorchester.

Court documents indicate that the bank account into which Wolas deposited investor funds has been drained and that Wolas allegedly used the money mostly for his personal expenses unrelated to development of the real estate projects.

Wolas faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. The charge of aggravated identity theft comes with a minimum of two years in prison, which must be served consecutively to any term for the wire fraud, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Image via Quincy Police Department