Former St. Louis building inspector gets 6 years for steering $1.64 million in repair contracts to family

Popoola, 58, admitted three counts of wire fraud in June. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, he ran most of the process for Stable Communities STL, backed by federal pandemic aid under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and Prop NS, a bond-funded program for houses the city holds through its Land Reutilization Authority. He chose the properties, wrote the scopes of work, handled the bids and then certified the work so the contractors got their money.

Prosecutors said Farst Construction LLC, formed with his sister, a Texas nurse with no construction experience, got 41 contracts, and Premier Finish Contractors LLC got 50; the second firm was organized by his fiancée, now his wife. The two firms took 42% of all Stable Communities payouts. On several jobs the work was never done, but Popoola signed off anyway. The family collected $1,642,908, which went to mortgage payments, vehicles, casino gambling and his 2023 wedding in Hawaii, according to prosecutors. Neither woman has been charged.

The damage spread past the stolen money. Mayor Cara Spencer said the city could be forced to pay back millions in ARPA funds. While investigators worked, the city froze payments to contractors who had done nothing wrong and stalled repairs on buildings hit by the May 2025 tornado. A building owner on Rowan Avenue told the court in a written statement that the loss of $48,500 in repair money left structural decay that false inspection reports covered up, KSDK reported.

Popoola's lawyer had asked for two years. He has repaid nothing so far, First Alert 4 reported, and he will stay on an ankle monitor until he reports to prison. Prosecutors said they will go after his assets and, once he is released, his wages.