Derek Wachob, the Oklahoma steel executive accused of orchestrating a $66 million fraud scheme, has pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court. The Southern District of New York says the Paragon Industries CEO admitted to wire fraud on Monday after years of allegedly misleading investors, a bank, an investment firm and steel distributors. Sentencing is expected later this year.
What Prosecutors Say Happened
According to the Justice Department, Wachob enticed individual investors, a financial firm, a bank and at least two steel pipe distributors with promises of future steel purchases and other business deals. Prosecutors say that instead of using the money for those transactions, he spent it on luxury cars, vacation homes, private jets, helicopters and yachts.
In the same filing, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said Wachob "portrayed himself as a billionaire" but that the image was "built on fraud." The office says the 53-year-old now faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and is scheduled to appear for sentencing before Judge J. Paul Oetken on November 17, 2026.
Fallout Had Already Spread Beyond Manhattan
Federal charges against Wachob were first reported when he was indicted on November 18, 2025, and Monday's plea marks his first formal admission in court. In June, the Sapulpa Herald reported that properties tied to Wachob were already being auctioned off in Creek County in a separate legal dispute, a sign that the financial wreckage from the alleged scheme has stretched well beyond Lower Manhattan.
