Missouri man steals millions, buys lingerie and vacation with 6 women, officials say

A businessman in Missouri is charged with defrauding customers, including an Alaskan village, out of $4 million, federal officials say.

Officials say Michael Dismer, 51, of Rogersville used eight businesses to defraud 22 customers out of a total surpassing $4 million, according to a Department of Justice news release. The companies largely built boats, barges and tugboats.

Dismer would collect deposits from customers who’d contracted him to build boats, but instead of putting the money toward boat construction, he spent it on other items, officials say. These items include jewelry, lingerie, clothes, flowers, guns, trips to the salon and a “Hawaiian vacation for himself and six young women,” the release said.

Dismer also put some of the money toward university and private school tuition as well as home improvements, the release said.

Officials say Dismer would fabricate the status of projects to receive “milestone payments” and prevent customers from asking questions.

Among Dismer’s alleged victims is Igiugig Village, a Native American village in Alaska that secured a $200,00 federal grant to purchase a boat for the community, the release said.

The tribal council contracted Dismer to build a $275,000 tugboat, depositing an initial $96,000 from which Dismer withdrew $70,000 on the same day, the release said. He used it to purchase a boat construction facility he’d once owned but had been previously foreclosed, officials say.

Later, the council paid Dismer an additional $77,375, which he used to pay outstanding property taxes on the site, the release said. The council made two more payments, paying Dismer a total of $242,375 but say it “received nothing in return,” the release said.

Over the course of the scheme, officials say Dismer opened 32 accounts among seven different banks.

Along with 18 counts of wire fraud, Dismer is also charged with five counts of tax evasion and four counts of not filing tax returns, the release said.

This story was originally published August 27, 2019 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Missouri man steals millions, buys lingerie and vacation with 6 women, officials say."