A former building inspector for the city of St. Louis has been indicted on three counts of wire fraud, accused of diverting federal and local funds intended to stabilize thousands of vacant and blighted properties in struggling neighborhoods to construction companies created by his relatives under his direction.
Adebanjo “Banjo” Popoola pleaded not guilty to the charges on March 13. He resigned as the city’s building inspector in November 2024. The housing stabilization program was shut down by the city in May 2025 due to mismanagement, among other issues.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri alleges that Popoola directed his sister — who lives in Texas and has no construction background — to register a company called Farst Construction LLC in Missouri in October 2022. Popoola’s longtime romantic partner, whom he married in 2023, incorporated a Missouri company called Premier Finish Contractors LLC for Popoola also on Feb. 20.
Popoola’s duties as a building inspector were to identify privately owned or municipally owned properties for rehabilitation and stabilization, develop the scope of work for each property, bid on the work, review bids, select the contractor to perform the work, inspect the supposedly completed work, and certify to the city auditor’s office that the work was to be completed and financed.
Prosecutors allege Popoola directed about $1.4 million to Farst Construction from the city’s Stable Communities STL program and about $339,500 from the city’s Prop NS program for purported rehabilitation and stabilization work. The indictment also alleges that Popoola directed about $1.3 million from the Stable Communities STL program and approximately $1 million from the Prop NS program to be awarded to Premier Finish Contractors.
Of the 59 contracts awarded through the Stable Communities STL program, Popoola was responsible for 13 being awarded to Farst and 10 to Premier, according to the indictment, for a combined total of approximately 42% of the nearly $8 million awarded. Of the 144 contracts awarded through the Prop NS program, Popoola allowed eight to be awarded to Farst and 23 to Premier, according to the indictment, representing approximately 24 percent of the $5.6 million total.
Stable Communities, whose money was intended to fix privately owned properties, was funded through federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. Prop NS, which was for vacant residential buildings on city-owned land, was financed through general obligation bonds issued by the city.
Fake certification
Farst and Premier did not perform the contracted work on multiple properties, but Popoola falsely certified to the city comptroller that the work was fully and properly performed, according to the indictment.
Popoola and his wife had one or more joint bank accounts where city funds were deposited. He had the same deal with his sister. In one example cited in the indictment, when Farst received a $29,500 check from the Prop NS program in February 2023, Popoola’s sister immediately wrote herself a $15,000 check from Farst’s business account and deposited it into her personal bank account, then immediately wrote a $10,000 check to Popoola.
Popoola, his sister and his wife made about $1.67 million after paying subcontractors for alleged work on the stabilization projects, according to the indictment. According to the indictment, Popoola used the money for residential mortgage payments, multiple vehicle purchases and repairs, travel expenses, her September 2023 wedding in Hawaii, casino gaming and other dining and entertainment expenses.
Popoola lied in city documents when he falsely stated that he had no personal interest, directly or indirectly, in a contract with the City of St. Louis and had no interest in any business, the indictment alleges. His sister and his wife lied in contract documents when they falsely claimed that no city employee had any private interest in the contracts, the indictment added.
As ENR previously reported, the private property owners filed a lawsuit in April 2025 to learn how the blighted building restoration programs worked, the contractors selected and the record keeping and quality control managed, as well as to uncover any alleged money trail that the plaintiffs believe will show kickbacks paid to approve repairs that were not done or were poorly done.
The lawsuit names former Mayor Tishuara Jones, two former building commissioners, four building inspectors and two construction companies that are alleged to have had close ties to Popoola. A motion by the City Council to dismiss the lawsuit is pending.
Attorney W. Bevis Schock, who represents the private property owners in the lawsuit, believes Popoola’s indictment strengthens his clients’ case.
“The judge now has a man who has been charged because what they were doing was criminal. Yeah, I think it’s pretty hard to dismiss the plaintiff’s case and say, ‘You got nothing? Get out,'” Schock said. “We think we’re on solid ground, but we’ll have to see what the court says.”
Schock also believes other people in the city knew about the alleged crimes.
“The idea that no one at City Hall knew that Banjo was a thief and that he wasn’t doing the work he promised and he was the owner of the contractor. [firms] who was running the job, it’s nonsense,” says Schock. “Of course they knew. Many of them knew it. They had to know.”
A request for comment from Popoola’s attorney was not immediately returned.
