WINK Investigates: Beattie Development in debt for more than $11 million

WINK News has obtained new documents from the City of Cape Coral confirming the possibility of criminal charges against Paul Beattie, the owner of Beattie Development before the office was raided in early August.

New documents also show help may be coming to homeowners who have paid the contractor hundreds of thousands of dollars and haven’t had their homes built.

288 people, including homeowners, companies, subcontractors, and others, will receive a letter in the mail. Beattie Development is liquidating all of its assets to pay the people it owes. That sounds like help, but it may not be.

There are so many people claiming Cape Coral-based Beattie Development owes them money, WINK News has been hearing from them for months.

The 26 homeowners and 221 subcontractors listed in a new court filing aren’t even all of them.

An attorney not connected to the case said the document details what the company claims it owes all these people.

“There was a significant amount of creditors so it’s pretty excessive, in my opinion,” Attorney Alan Hamisch said.

On September 3rd according to court records, Paul Beattie handed over all of his company assets to someone. Their job is to distribute the assets to people owed money. It’s similar to bankruptcy in many ways, but run in state courts instead. No one knows how much money anyone will walk away with.

“This is not something that they’re not going to be made whole on. It’s going to be their best option to get money. But I think people will be sorely disappointed to see how much they’re going to actually get,” Hamisch said.

Kristen and Matt Kramer, former Beattie customers say they are out $320,000 dollars and ended up hiring someone else to finish it.

They aren’t on the court filing’s list to get paid from this but Beattie claims he is entitled to money from the Kramers. On the document, he listed their home as an asset to be liquidated even after they say they paid Beattie double or even triple, hired a new contractor and are almost ready to move into their dream home.

Beattie has placed a $271,000 dollar lien on their home. They are now having to hire an attorney to fight their home being listed as an Beattie Development asset. The Kramer’s say it is upsetting to see their home listed as an asset after all the trouble they’ve been through.

If you are listed as a creditor and Beattie owes you money, you’ll get a letter in the mail. In that letter, you’ll have the option to file a proof of claim.

“If you don’t file a claim, you can’t do anything,” Hamisch said.

Leaving people who say they’ve already been through too much,, with one more thing to do, which may not get them much.

WINK News counted how much Beattie Development owes and according to the document, it has over $11.5 million dollars of debt.

We don’t have any idea where the money from these homeowners went.

There is a public zoom hearing next month for the liquidation and attorneys say it will be under oath. WINK News will be there.

We have tried to reach Paul Beattie again and the person who now holds the companies’ assets and we have not heard back from either.