6 days ago
Muffley Homes CEO back in court, faces felony charge related to business practice.
The Brief
High-end Atlanta home builder Mikel Muffley appeared in court, waiving his arraignment hearing on the felony charge of "conversion of payments for real property improvements."
Some of Muffley's clients claim that they used the money they paid for their home build on other projects.
The case has been in limbo for more than two years due to a backlog at the Fulton County courthouse.
ATLANTA - Muffley Homes CEO Mikel Muffley waived his arraignment hearing on the felony charge of "conversion of payments for real property improvements."
The owner of the high-end home-building group was arrested in 2022 after clients claimed in court he used the money for their home build on other client projects. The case has been dragged on because of a case backlog at the Fulton County courthouse. He is expected back in court this summer.
His company has since gone into bankruptcy protection, but he is still listed as a real estate agent with the Georgia Real Estate Commission.
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The backstory
The last time we saw Mikel Muffley in court was November 2022. And it was unusual. The builder of some of Atlanta's more well-to-do was charged criminally with conversion of payments. His clients claimed they paid him for a home build, but their money didn't always go to their construction. Then the case didn't move much until May 2025. Muffley appeared in Fulton County Superior Court from a virtual location. His attorney spoke for him in person at his arraignment hearing.
Raymond Guidice simply said, "Waive formal arraignment."
And that was that. He passed on a public plea and to have criminal charges officially read to the court. But the last time the FOX I-Team saw him in a courtroom, he talked a lot.
"Been in Atlanta 22 years," he told the judge in November 2022. "I've been in real estate the entire time."
According to state records, Muffley is still a state-licensed real estate agent, but his company, Muffley Homes, has been administratively dissolved. At the time, it was advertised as "master luxury builders" offering "full design build services."
"I'm not an accountant. I'm not a licensed builder. What I did was make an attempt to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together. I count on other people to do what I hire them to do," he said in court, explaining his business model.
He would buy the lots, hire the architects, facilitate the financing, then hire the contractors. He dealt with high-end buyers with high-end expectations.
"Because we had so many issues with past builders, what was to a create a more transparent system," he said.
The other side
But how he ran his program got him arrested at the end of that hearing. His client Kasey Asarch, at the time, testified to fuzzy accounting, not transparency."Our account was drained and emptied by the time we terminated our contract," she told the judge.
Between the pandemic backlog and Fulton County's busy docket, it's been two and a half years since his first court appearance. But in that time, there were two other big developments. In March 2024, he sued his one-time bookkeeper who testified for the prosecution.
"The money was taken out of the Asarch job account and the money was placed in another job account," Sharon Adams testified.
Muffley claimed she stole his personal property, downloaded files, took trade secrets, mishandled duties, and more, causing him to lose clients. He also accused her of defamation. There are no court records showing she defended herself, so the judge ordered a default judgment. Mikel Muffley was awarded $3.2 million. The judgment, it reads, is "based upon the evidence heard and for good cause shown." The Fox 5 I-Team reached out to Ms. Adams for comment but didn't hear back
What's next
A month later, Muffley's company, MDM Opportunity Ventures, filed for bankruptcy. The Asarches are among 45 listed creditors.
Muffley is expected back in court in September.
The Source
The I-Team attended court hearings, tracked the bankruptcy filing in federal court, and checked the Georgia Real Estate Commission's site for licensing information. The judgment against the former bookkeeper is also a public court record.
