IN-DEPTH: Lee's Summit 29-year-old investigated in $2.1 million Ponzi scheme

KSHB 41 News reporter Braden Bates covers parts of Jackson County, Missouri, including Lee's Summit. Send Braden a story idea by e-mail.

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A 29-year-old Lee's Summit man could face charges of defrauding at least 24 people of more than $2 million, according to the United States Attorney's Office in Kansas City.

Court documents said the fraud is known to date back to September 2024.

The documents state that Trevor Uhls allegedly used promissory note contracts to promise investors a return over a 30-, 60-, or 90-day time frame with 10% to 15% gains.

The court documents state, "Although some investors received a complete return on their investment, the majority of investors in Uhls' Ponzi scheme only received several interest payments if any."

in addition, some investors only got a fraction of their initial investment back.

In March 2026, an investigation was opened against Uhls by the Securities and Exchange Commission. At that time, Uhls retained an attorney.

Kansas City Public Safety

Temporary restraining order granted in alleged fraud scheme

Steve Kaut

That was followed in June 2026 by a search warrant of Uhls' apartment by I.R.S. Criminal Investigation agents, according to the court document. His apartment was registered as the location for the business names he used — "Trevor Uhls LLC" and "Midwest Homes."

"Midwest Homes" is not a registered business.

Despite the investigation against Uhls and the search warrant served at his residence, the court documents said Uhls defrauded three more victims.

According to the documents, Uhls asked Victim #1 for a $40,000 investment. Uhls took Victim #1 on a private jet to Dallas, then at a separate time, they went to a NCAA basketball game with Victim #1's son.

Victim #1 ended up investing $70,000. He's only received a return of about $12,000. Victim #1's son also invested and lost around $3,000 of his investment.

Victim #2 invested around $300,000 with Uhls, according to the court documents.

Victim #3 made investments totaling $500,000 with recent investments made after Uhls knew he was being investigated by the SEC.

Of the approximately $500,000, Victim #3 only received around $25,000 back, the documents said.

According to court records, Uhls made credit card payments of more than $800,000 between September 2024 and December 2025. He also spent over $600,000 on sports bets in that same time frame, despite not having a legitimate source of income.

The documents went on to say, he spent over $23,000 for chartered flights.

A temporary restraining order impacting Trevor Uhls finances and businesses was granted in this case.

I reached out to the attorneys representing this case.

Trevor Uhls has not been convicted in these cases.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said the case will go to federal trial.