Developer behind proposed Benbrook community faces lawsuits, liens
Corey Waldrop, the Fort Worth real estate developer behind a proposed residential community in Benbrook, has a track record of allegedly not paying bills and misappropriating funds, according to law enforcement, court records and people who have worked with him.
Waldrop, however, dismissed the allegations, characterizing the claims as inaccurate and an unfortunate byproduct of being in the construction business.
The accusations surfaced recently as Waldrop moved forward with plans to develop a portion of the Mary’s Creek floodplain in Benbrook. Waldrop, under the company name Motiv Ventures, is seeking to create a 178-home community called Rowan Ranch along the creek.
Residents whose homes border Mary’s Creek oppose the development, saying it will increase the risk of flooding to their properties. Waldrop, meanwhile, said he has plans to mitigate the flood risk. The city of Benbrook, whose planning and zoning commission recommended approving Waldrop’s latest proposal, said the development would be subject to oversight by city engineers and others to assure safety.
The planning and zoning commission’s recommendation is expected to be put to a city council vote in late August.
Since 2019, Waldrop, 37, has had more than $900,000 in liens claimed against properties he’s been involved with as a developer, home builder and home remodeler. Those liens were requested by subcontractors, building supply companies and an engineering firm to whom Waldrop owed money.
Waldrop told the Star-Telegram that several of the liens have been released. He said it isn’t uncommon for subcontractors and vendors to file for liens of this kind in the construction industry to ensure payment. Sometimes, Waldrop said, liens are the result of accounting or shipping errors on the part of vendors.
In addition to the mechanic’s and materialmen’s liens, in February a lien was placed on Waldrop’s Fort Worth residence for unpaid federal taxes.
According to that lien, Waldrop and his wife, Meg, owe the Internal Revenue Service $358,016 in taxes going back to 2013. They are said to owe $241,000 for the year 2023 alone.
Waldrop’s former company, Trinity Design and Build, was also the defendant in at least seven civil suits dating back to 2021. Two of those lawsuits resulted in judgements against Waldrop. Others are pending the outcome of involuntary bankruptcy proceedings against Trinity Design and Build.
In March, Waldrop was arrested by Parker County Sheriff’s Department deputies on suspicion of theft and misapplication of funds. Four felony warrants were issued in response to complaints from a Weatherford homeowner and two building contractors.
Alleged theft and misapplication of funds
According to the arrest affidavit, the Weatherford homeowner paid Waldrop more than $20,000 for appliances for his new home, which Trinity Design and Build was constructing. The homeowner alleged that Waldrop, in turn, never paid the appliance dealer. Eventually, the items were delivered to the home, but the dealer placed a lien on the property for the money owed. The homeowner said he ultimately paid the dealer directly, but he never got his initial money for the appliances back from Waldrop.
The Parker County sheriff’s investigator who filed for the arrest warrants in the criminal cases found evidence that Waldrop took the Weatherford homeowner’s money and transferred it to his personal bank account as opposed to keeping those funds in a dedicated construction project account, resulting in the charges of theft and misapplication of funds.
The other two complainants in the criminal cases were from a glass and mirror provider and a custom cabinet builder who performed work on the Weatherford home. The glass company owner told the sheriff’s department investigator that Waldrop owed him $5,900. The cabinet company owner said Waldrop owed her $6,400.
Waldrop countered by saying the Weatherford homeowner owed him more than $100,000, and Waldrop ended up filing a lien against the property for that amount. The homeowner, however, viewed that as a retaliatory move by Waldrop and said the lien claim had no merit.
Jeff Swain, the Parker County district attorney, confirmed that the criminal charges against Waldrop are pending review and had not been submitted to the grand jury as of July 28. He did not provide a timeline for advancing or dismissing the charges.
Roofing contractor calls Waldrop ‘a smooth talker’
Colton Gaston, with Fort Worth-based Frontier Roofing Systems, was a subcontractor on a residential project Trinity Design and Build oversaw in Keller.
Gaston said he first connected with Trinity Design and Build through a Facebook group called DFW Construction Needs. In February 2024, Gaston said, he signed a contract with Waldrop to install a roof on a new luxury home in Keller’s Greenbriar addition.
In the months that followed, Gaston said, Waldrop was slow to pay. When Gaston asked about past-due invoices, Waldrop told him he was awaiting funds from his own clients. Emails and text exchanges shared with the Star-Telegram illustrated Gaston’s summary of events. In May 2024, Gaston filed a lien against the property in the amount of $89,730, the amount he said Waldrop still owed him.
By September 2024, Gaston said, he had received about $50,000 from Waldrop, paid by credit card. Gaston said he hasn’t had any communication with Waldrop since the bankruptcy proceedings began shortly thereafter.
“I should have done my research prior,” Gaston said when asked if he knew of previous contractors’ accusations of nonpayment against Waldrop. He added that Waldrop was “a smooth talker” who always had an excuse for why he wasn’t paying.
Gaston said filing a lien against a builder was an extraordinary step for him, and that in his years in the roofing business he has rarely had the kinds of issues he said he had with Waldrop.
The Star-Telegram contacted a number of companies and subcontractors who have filed liens against Waldrop. In addition to Gaston, three others responded. One, Gary Sharp, an electrician with DNB Electric, based in Wise County, made accusations similar to Gaston’s. He said he had to lay off three employees after Waldrop failed to pay him for work he’d performed.
Another, Eric Carter, with Bryan-based Kent Moore Cabinets, filed a lien against Trinity Design and Build in February 2020 in the amount of $21,503. Carter said that was eventually cleared, though he wasn’t sure if Waldrop or the homeowner paid the outstanding balance.
The third subcontractor, Jose Montanez, with a company called We Rock, installed countertops in a home Waldrop built in Azle in 2024. On July 28, 2025, Montanez said Waldrop still owed him more than $11,000 for that job, and he planned to file a lien in that amount against the Azle property.
In response to the first two accusations, Waldrop said he didn’t pay Gaston the full amount because Gaston didn’t finish the job he was hired to do. Concerning Sharp’s allegations, Waldrop said the electrician’s work was not up to code, and he had to hire another electrician to correct the job. Therefore, Waldrop said, he didn’t pay Sharp.
Gaston, however, was adamant that the $89,000 he said Waldrop owed him in the lien claim was for work already completed and material already used.
Sharp said that at the time he worked for Waldrop, he was a licensed master electrician, and that he wouldn’t have done sub-par work because he wouldn’t want to endanger a homeowner’s life or property, not to mention ruin his reputation.
According to Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records, Sharp’s master electrician’s license expired in February.
A plaintiff’s version of events
Last October, Trinity Design and Build was forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings by three plaintiffs — two homeowners and a contractor — who accused Waldrop of not completing work he had been paid for and of not paying for materials and labor. On April 18, the judge in that case granted the plaintiffs’ petition for involuntary bankruptcy. Assets held by Trinity Design and Build were ordered to be turned over to an assigned trustee to satisfy outstanding debts.
Hunter Allen and his wife, Christina, are plaintiffs in that suit. They are also plaintiffs in a separate civil suit against Waldrop.
The Allens contracted with Trinity Design and Build in March 2023 to remodel their Fort Worth home. Allen said the company came highly recommended. Trinity Design and Build was hailed in a 2021 Fort Worth Magazine article as a “new and memorable” custom home builder.
Hunter Allen said he met with the Waldrops, and he initially trusted them based on how they presented themselves as a local, mom-and-pop outfit who cultivated good relationships with clients and contractors.
“We kind of bought into the concept that they would be hands-on, that they would care,” said Allen.
But the business relationship soon soured. Allen said Waldrop would request advance payments, but the work Allen paid for wasn’t completed, or items Allen purchased, such as plumbing fixtures and cabinetry, weren’t delivered. Finally, Allen contacted an attorney. He and his wife filed their civil suit in October 2023, seeking $500,000 in damages.
In 2024, Allen joined the other plaintiffs in the bankruptcy suit. It was during a court hearing in that case in April that Waldrop was arrested by officers from the Parker County Sheriff’s Department.
Karen Nicolaou, an accountant who served as an expert witness on behalf of the plaintiffs in the bankruptcy case, found inconsistencies in Trinity Design and Build’s financial statements, according to court records. Nicolaou’s analysis also revealed an alleged pattern of slow payment to vendors and subcontractors.
Under Texas law, construction payments are considered trust funds. Money paid by a client to a builder must be kept in a dedicated construction account and used solely for project expenses. The builder, who is a trustee of the funds, has a legal responsibility to maintain accurate records of money coming into and going out of the account.
According to Nicolaou, Waldrop did not always do that. Like the Parker County sheriff’s investigator, Nicolaou testified to finding evidence that the Waldrops diverted business funds to a personal bank account. Nicolaou further accused the Waldrops of using business funds for personal expenses. Those included things such as massages, utilities at their Fort Worth home, clothing and groceries.
Waldrop’s response
Waldrop communicated with the Star-Telegram by phone, video call and email to address the allegations against him. In the initial phone conversation, Waldrop said civil suits and liens are inherently part of his business.
“Sometimes it just takes time to get the facts,” Waldrop added.
As for the criminal charges, Waldrop said those were “in limbo” and that it could be years before he could clear his name.
“We hope and pray with time and with facts and information, those will go away,” Waldrop said.
When asked about Trinity Design and Build’s accounting practices, Waldrop was adamant that he never comingled funds for multiple projects. He said clients would pay him, then he would pay for whatever was needed for the project.
“Trinity maintained centralized bookkeeping through QuickBooks, where all project-related costs were tracked, categorized and reconciled according to each specific job,” said Waldrop.
Furthermore, Waldrop said he provided detailed accounting records to clients at the end of their projects showing what they paid in versus what he paid out for materials and subcontractors.
Regarding Nicolaou’s testimony in the bankruptcy case, Waldrop said he hadn’t seen her formal report.
“What she provided to the court was a synopsis of her findings, and my response is, you know, we’re here to help clarify any kind of questions,” said Waldrop.
According to him, there were “gaps” in the information provided to the accountant. Waldrop said the accountant would have painted a different picture if she had all the facts.
Waldrop went on to characterize the plaintiffs’ claims in the bankruptcy suit as “unsubstantiated.”
Benbrook residents’ concerns
Benbrook residents living near Mary’s Creek have expressed concerns about Waldrop’s Rowan Ranch development.
Waldrop previously told the Star-Telegram he has worked with engineers on a plan to reshape the creek and its surrounding area to mitigate the flood risk to new and existing homes. That plan includes widening Mary’s Creek and adding barriers to slow water flow.
Pape-Dawson, one of the engineering firms Waldrop hired to conduct studies on the Rowan Ranch site, claimed a $440,000 lien on the property in March alleging unpaid fees by Waldrop’s company Motiv Ventures, according to the lien affidavit.
Waldrop said he is still working with Pape-Dawson on Rowan Ranch, and that his agreement with the company stipulated that Pape-Dawson would not be paid until the city of Benbrook approved the zoning change and the project progressed. The lien was filed, Waldrop said, simply to ensure payment.
A representative with Pape-Dawson did not respond to a request for comment.
Benbrook Assistant City Manager Ethan Cox said he understood residents’ concerns, but the city will have oversight on the development should it move forward following the upcoming city council vote. Cox also said the city of Fort Worth, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers would all need to approve plans to build in the existing floodplain.
In reference to Waldrop’s legal troubles, Cox said the city would take those under consideration in its business dealings with the developer.