CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — A self-proclaimed millionaire who stirred controversy on social media surrounding the opening of a downtown Charleston bar in 2020 has been arrested following a wire fraud investigation by the FBI.
Theodore “Teddy” Miller, 34, of South Charleston, was arrested Friday by federal authorities. He is accused of claiming to own two Charleston properties that he does not own and scamming a man out of $20,000 for an investment in the properties that never occurred.
Miller, who also refers to himself as “The Wolf of West Virginia,” received intense criticism and backlash after he turned the former Boulevard Tavern located on Kanawha Boulevard into The Sorority. He released a series of bizarre since-deleted, profanity-laced videos promoting the new bar that showcased female bartenders in scantily clad schoolgirl uniforms.
According to a federal criminal complaint unsealed on Monday, the FBI started the investigation in March 2023 after it received a complaint from the West Virginia Securities Commission that Miller was selling unregistered securities to the public.
Investigators noted Miller frequently travels internationally and was outside of the United States for much of the investigation over the last 17 months. He often posts videos on social media showcasing his luxurious lifestyle and lavish worldwide travels.
The FBI said Miller owns numerous businesses registered in West Virginia, including Bear Industries LLC, Prestige Worldwide Investments LLC, Bear Investments and Business Consulting LLC, Blue Steel Modeling Agency LLC, T&C Construction Services LLC and Stark Industries LLC.
According to its website,Bear Industries is a “real estate development company that operates throughout the United States that specializes in the rebuilding of abandoned and distressed properties into affordable, modern rental property to either be held or sold for a profit.”
According to court documents, Miller solicits an investment in a specific income-generating property that he will either rehabilitate or construct a structure upon. “Investors are promised the return of the initial investment plus more when the construction is complete and the project is refinanced,” FBI Special Agent Aaron Lee wrote in the criminal complaint. “After, investors share in any rental income from the property.”
Investigators said Miller uses social media to advertise for direct investments.
Investigators said a victim, only identified in the complaint by his initials, “C.T.,” viewed a TikTok video of Miller in June 2022. In the video, Miller advertised a direct investment opportunity in the construction of a secure dry-storage lot located at 1017 and 1019 Bigley Ave. in Charleston. The victim emailed Miller to inquire about investing.
Miller responded to C.T. and claimed the project was “a great way to make a hell of a return, create passive income with the equity you retain, and start your journey to creating sustainable wealth” and included a promotional investor packet, Lee said.
The packet claimed Miller would rehabilitate a small dwelling and construct a dry-storage lot on the property, court documents said. Once the project was complete, the property would be refinanced and C.T. would receive his initial investment back, plus an approximate 23% return. After, C.T. and Miller would share in the rental income from the dwelling and dry-storage lot. Lee said the packet claimed the “conservative ROI for year one was just under 20% with a cashout at the end of year one but residual passive returns for the following years.”
Investigators went on to note that C.T. discovered on his own that the properties were actually owned by Philco LLC. However, in a phone conversation, Miller claimed he was the controller of that company. Lee said Miller has no ownership interest or control over Philco and never owned 1017 or 1019 Bigley Ave. He did enter into an owner-financing agreement to purchase the property in July 2022. However, Lee said Miller became delinquent on payments by the spring of 2023 and never completed the purchase.
In June 2022, the victim signed an “Investor Agreement” and “Partnership Agreement” to invest in the project. The agreements said C.T. would give Miller $20,000 for uses related to the Bigley Ave. property. Miller would then repay C.T. and his wife $20,000 plus 15% of the property’s refinance on or before August 2, 2023, court documents indicated.
The agreement also said that Bear Industries, C.T. and C.T.’s wife were partners in a venture to rent the dwelling and dry-storage lot property. Bear Industries would own 85% of the equity in the partnership and the couple would own 15% of the equity in the partnership.
On July 5, 2022, C.T. wired $20,000 to Bear Industries’ bank account from California. Once Miller received the money, investigators said he transferred $4,000 to his personal bank account, paid employees, paid $5,266.64 toward a mortgage on a different property and transferred $9,000 to a separate bank account.
In Nov. 2022, Miller told C.T. that the project had “slipped two months” but claimed the lot would be open in 60 days. Agents said C.T. never heard from Miller after December 2022, despite multiple attempts to contact him. He has still not received his investment back.
In June 2024, C.T. drove by the property and said the dry-storage lot had not been built.
Miller is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dwane Tinsley on Monday afternoon. In a motion for a detention hearing, U.S. attorneys said there was a serious risk Miller would flee and posed a serious risk of obstruction of justice. As of Monday, he was still incarcerated at the South Central Regional Jail.
