Theodore Miller, 35, who called himself the “Wolf of West Virginia” online, was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison for defrauding more than 180 people through fake real estate investments. He was also ordered to pay $398,533.52 in restitution.
Miller pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in a scheme that ran from spring 2022 through September 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. He will also serve three years of supervised release after his prison term.
Court documents show Miller cultivated a lavish social media image as a globe-trotting real estate mogul, but in reality he was in debt, behind on property taxes, and had defaulted on loans.
One scheme involved promising investors profits from developments on Bigley Avenue in Charleston, including a share of future rental income. In another, he offered a pooled investment called “Bear Lute,” guaranteeing at least six percent returns with an online tracking and withdrawal option.
Neither Bigley Avenue nor Bear Lute investments were registered with federal authorities, and Miller ultimately collected about $95,000 from the Bigley Avenue scheme and roughly $303,950 from Bear Lute. Victims included a California investor who wired $20,000 for the Bigley Avenue project and a Texas investor who sent $2,500 for Bear Lute.
Court records also reveal that Miller’s mother, Deanna Drumm, 61, handled finances and transfers while he lived abroad from mid-2021 until his August 2024 arrest. Drumm pleaded guilty last fall to aiding and abetting the sale of unregistered securities and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 9.
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