Real estate agent sentenced for fraud in Windsor scam

GREELEY — A Weld County judge has sentenced a former Larimer County real estate agent and investor to jail after he stole more than $1 million from investors in a 2021 real estate investment scam.

Bret Lamperes will spend 90 days in the Weld County jail and 10 years of supervised probation “with strict financial conditions,” according to a statement from the Weld County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case.

Judge Timothy Kerns also ordered Lamperes, 54, to pay more than $1 million in restitution to 14 victims.

The case stems from an investment scheme beginning in 2015 in which Lamperes’ company, Investments of Windsor, took earnest money from potential condo buyers but then failed to deliver on the condo development. Civil Lawsuits began appearing in 2020 in district court.

Bankruptcy actions, along with adversary actions, were filed starting in 2021 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The bankruptcy filing listed $863,037 in assets, mostly attributable to a home in Berthoud, and $1.66 million in liabilities. 

The criminal fraud and tax evasion case was filed in 2021; Lamperes pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud on Dec. 31, 2023.

According to investigators, Lamperes, who had been living in Berthoud at the time, executed 29 sales contracts related to the Investments of Windsor project. However, only eight of the 29 condos were built.

In total, the defendant stole $1,062,500 from victims who invested money into the project, the DA’s office said.

The DA quoted one of the victims in a statement about the case: “Our goal with this was to help us prepare us for retirement. This money we worked really hard to save, and we were looking to also use this for our children’s future.”

“In faith, we gave Bret our money to invest in this real estate transaction,” another victim said. “We trusted him to do the right thing.”

Instead of doing the right thing, Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Pirraglia said, Lamperes used the money for luxury vacations overseas, sporting events, and for multiple other personal expenses.

“This man was living a lifestyle only some of us can dream about,” Pirraglia said. “It’s devastating to hear how this has had such a ripple effect on these victims and their families. Some of these victims, who were getting ready to retire, are now having to work several more years, and even having to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. All because of the greed and deceit at the hands of one man.”    

“It was all about self-interest,” Judge Kerns said at the sentencing. “That’s what prevailed here. To a tune of a million dollars.”

As part of the plea agreement, if the defendant doesn’t comply with the conditions of probation, he’ll be sentenced to 18 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections.

Lamperes, who had indicated to BizWest a willingness to talk about the case, did not respond to a message left on his phone answering service. A second call was met with a full mailbox.

The answering service message identified his current companies as Mile High Lead Service and System Pavers. Mile High Lead Service does not show up in the Secretary of State’s registry of businesses. System Pavers is a trade name for System Pavers of Colorado LLC, which lists a Denver street address and a Santa Ana, California, mailing address.The Greeley Tribune reported that Lamperes had recently secured a job in California, and the bankruptcy action referenced Temecula, California.

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