Sam Steer, owner of S2 Real Estate Group, is accused of renting out homes and apartments to drug traffickers to use as “stash houses” and “trap houses,” according to a criminal complaint.
A Milwaukee real estate company executive was among 18 people arrested by federal agents this week on charges related to a massive drug conspiracy, according to a newly unsealed criminal complaint.
Sam Steer, 52, owner of S2 Real Estate Group, is accused of renting homes and apartments throughout the city to be used by drug traffickers as “stash houses” and “trap houses,” according to the complaint.
Additionally, Steer allegedly relied on these traffickers to manage other rental properties he owned and to find “drug addicts for rental properties.” [could] It will be rented. ”
Steer then allegedly deposited the rental income into the same account as rental income from other legitimate tenants “to conceal the origin and nature of the drug trafficking activity,” according to the indictment. The operations allegedly included the sale of fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana and other narcotics. Officers seized cash, scales, hypodermic needles and a firearm during the arrest.
In the complaint, investigators cited 25 properties owned by Steer through dozens of LLCs that are associated with drug trafficking, drug overdose deaths, or the presence of alleged drug dealers.
Steer has a history of possession of THC, amphetamines, LSD and psilocybin dating back to 1992. His wife, Regina Stair, was involved in the controlled purchase of fentanyl from another defendant named in the complaint, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Stair’s office manager, Janet Lopez, was also charged with “renting property to a drug trafficker” for use as a stash and arranging documents and utilities related to the rental property so that the drug trafficker’s name would not be associated with the rental process. Lopez then claimed a portion of the drug trafficking profits along with monthly rent, according to the complaint.
Lopez’s prior criminal history includes convictions for resisting or obstructing a police officer, and she was previously arrested on charges of harboring or aiding a felon, burglary of a building or dwelling, assault, and burglary.
According to the Journal Sentinel, Steer owns and manages more than 150 properties in the city, including more than 500 units. Since 2016, at least 360 violation orders have been issued against S2 Real Estate Group or its entities in the city’s Neighborhood Services Department related to nuisance and unresolved maintenance issues.
Steer remains in custody after appearing in court Wednesday. He is scheduled to reappear in court for a detention hearing on April 27.
Email Christy Murdoch
