N. Myrtle Beach Condo Project In Foreclosure; Deposits, Escrow Funds Missing; Developers Subject Of Federal Investigation

In North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the Myrtle Beach Sun News reports:

• Jeff Shoup and Tommy Hix are counting on a proposed sale of the Bahama Island property here to repay investors, but court documents and financial records show a sale might not generate enough money to replace all of the escrow funds missing from the developers' bank accounts.

• At least $30 million in bad loans, unpaid bills and missing deposits are owed by Shoup and Hix, who now are the focus of a federal investigation. Among the missing money is at least $7.3 million in deposits from condominium and marina investors.

• Bank records show most of that money was spent by Shoup, Hix and their nearly 60 corporations, including T&J Development of North Myrtle Beach. The 22-acre Bahama Island property, located west of the Intracoastal Waterway at about 13th Avenue North, is in foreclosure because Shoup and Hix did not make payments on a $7.6 million mortgage given to them by National Bank of South Carolina.

For more, see Sale Unlikely To Reach All Open Hands.

For story update, see Millions in doubt in resort sale (Investors unsure of reimbursement) ("A proposed sale of the Bahama Island resort property in North Myrtle Beach has fallen through, leaving investors who lost millions of dollars in deposits on the failed condominium project with dwindling alternatives to recoup their losses.")