Flathead Valley Construction Fraudster Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison

A Flathead Valley construction company owner was sentenced Tuesday to 70 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $543,859 after he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for defrauding customers by spending money intended for projects on unrelated business and personal expenses, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Craig Mark Draper, 55, of Las Vegas pleaded guilty in December 2021 that dropped nine other counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering as charged in the initial indictment.

According to court documents, the case involved 25 victims, including customers, vendors and former employees, some of whom suffered significant financial hardships as a result of Draper’s actions.

Draper moved to the Flathead Valley in 2017 and formed a construction company called ADI Builders. Draper started bidding on a variety of jobs, including the construction of pole barns, shops and residential remodels. In several instances, Draper provided invoices to customers for specific expenses associated with the projects, court records state.

In the wire fraud count to which Draper pleaded guilty, he sent an invoice to a customer for $59,002, which included $8,000 in charges for siding. The customer never received siding after wiring $59,002 to Draper and eventually paid the vendor directly for the siding included in Draper’s invoice, court records state.

Draper used some of the wired money for personal expenses unrelated to the customer’s project, including paying a company in Iowa for trophies for the winners of car races, paying an outfitter in Utah, making cash withdrawals and paying $9,500 to the Salish and Kootenai Tribes to lease their racetrack.

U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided over the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Racicot prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI.