Women accuse real estate investor of taking their money

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A home purchase went from dream to disaster.

Two Memphis women accuse a local real estate investor of pocketing thousands of dollars.

“I would tell him, ‘You should be ashamed of yourself,'” explained Idella West. “How dare you?”

West told FOX13 she met Xavian McNeal through mutual friends.

She is a nurse pursuing her master’s degree. West hoped to buy property to start a residential care home for veterans. “My passion has always been about helping people,” she explained. 

West showed FOX13 she sent McNeal $1,800 worth of CashApp payments for a down payment and fees for a property on Jackson Avenue near Hawthorne Street.

More than eight months after she sent her money, she said she never received the house she expected to buy.

“He took my money for his own personal gain,” she said. “He did nothing he said he was going to do. And it’s like, how can you do that to someone?”

FOX13 investigated McNeal’s past and found an active criminal case for theft of property. His accuser in that case, who asked FOX13 to hide her identity for privacy reasons, said she invested $38,000 with McNeal so he could purchase two properties for a “profit.”

In the affidavit, she claims he never followed through.

That accuser said he sent her $1,000 on CashApp as a refund. “I was just angry,” the accuser said. “I mean, I’m a single mom, I’m a female, I’m a health care provider, and I just—really, I was really shocked. I couldn’t believe it.”

McNeal had no comment when FOX13 tried to reach him on Thursday. “We’re in court with an attorney,” he wrote via text message. “I can’t speak on any of that.”

The Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South encouraged homebuyers to do their due diligence when searching for properties.

“Always work with a licensed professional and verify the licensing and the credentialing independently,” explained Daniel Irwin, a BBB spokesman.