Investors Say They Were Duped Into Buying Shares Of Firm With $4B Atlanta Development Dreams

Webstar Technology Group, a fledgling, penny stock company, entered the real estate scene last year with plans to build a $3.8B, 10-acre mixed-use district in Downtown Atlanta.

One of its would-be investors is now calling for an investigation into a consultant raising funds for the company and its Forge Atlanta project. 

Terrence Ruffin, a member of a local investing club with about two dozen investors, paid $5K for a small stake in Webstar but says he failed to receive proof of share purchases in return. Members of the group spent a combined $20K without receiving shares, he and another member said.

“I don’t want the shares, because it’s all a scam,” Ruffin told Bisnow in an interview.

“Obviously, I want my money back. The other piece of it all [is] he’s scamming all the Georgia residents. I kind of feel like I have partial responsibility to stop this,” he said. “It really impacted our family.”

In complaints filed in March with the FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and local police departments, Ruffin accuses Eric McClendon, who has described himself as a consultant for Webstar, of operating a “ponzi scheme,” according to documents reviewed by Bisnow. 

Ruffin alleges that McClendon accepted money from him in exchange for Webstar common shares that he never received. Ruffin claims that McClendon refused his requests for a refund.

Webstar’s corporate attorney, Donald Keer, said in an email that McClendon provides capital raise consulting to Forge Atlanta Asset Management, the subsidiary of Webstar that controls the Forge Atlanta project.

“Any actions taken by Mr. McClendon are private and outside of Webstar,” Keer said. “We know of no complaints against him nor is that our business.”

Webstar owns 80% of FAAM, according to regulatory filings.

McClendon, in an in-person interview with Bisnow on Friday, called Ruffin’s complaints a “nothing burger” and blamed past media coverage of the project and Webstar for inciting Ruffin’s concerns.

“It’s kind of like Terrence is reading the articles and thinking the worst. That’s why he went down the road with the complaint,” McClendon said. “To take it to this level is crazy. We’re right now about to turn the corner. This is a great project. There’s a lot of value in it. Everyone sees it.”

McClendon is listed as Webstar’s president of emergent markets on one version of Webstar’s website, which displays a 2024 copyright. He isn’t listed on what appears to be an updated version of the website with a 2025 copyright. 

The SEC declined to comment on Ruffin’s allegations. McClendon said he wasn’t a licensed broker-dealer because he focused on helping clients secure financing for projects.

Atlanta City Council Member Jason Dozier, whose district covers the Forge Atlanta site, said he received an email about the situation from Ruffin but hasn’t spoken directly to him about it. 

“The project received public financing support through the Fulton County Development Authority, but the City of Atlanta has not played any role in the deal,” Dozier wrote to Bisnow. “I have not met with Webstar or any of their representatives, and what I’ve learned so far still has been pretty alarming.”

In October, the Fulton County Development Authority preliminarily approved a nearly $10M tax break supporting Forge Atlanta. If the project is realized, it would join a handful of other efforts to revitalize South Downtown after decades of disinvestment. The site of Forge Atlanta is vacant, and a development there would link together three neighborhoods, Dozier previously told Bisnow.

Bear Village To Forge Atlanta

In 2024, Webstar seemingly came out of nowhere and announced it was planning to build a $650M resort in Commerce, Georgia, to be named Bear Village. It would include water parks, a family entertainment center, race tracks, an aquarium, a 300-room luxury hotel, restaurants, retail and a conference center on 120 acres.

Webstar, under a previous corporate iteration called Thunder Energies, said in February 2024 it had a site under contract and was in talks with city and county officials on securing water rights. But Commerce officials told Bisnow more than a year later that they were unaware of the plans. A Bisnow investigation in July 2025 found that the company had left behind a trail of nonexistent permits, collapsed land deals, unverifiable résumés and SEC filings riddled with errors.  

Webstar executives have said their sole focus is now on Forge Atlanta.

Webstar — which had no revenue, cash on hand of just over $1,200 and total liabilities in excess of $41M at the end of March, according to its most recent SEC filing — bought a 10-acre site in December where it plans to build Forge Atlanta. Phase 1 of the project would cost about $756M and include 300 hotel rooms, 600 luxury condo units and 60K SF of retail and entertainment space. The total vision includes more than 2,300 luxury condo units, 600K SF of office space, 200K SF for data centers, and more than 120K SF of retail, dining and entertainment space. 

McClendon told Bisnow in a text message that the Forge Atlanta project “brings new life and long-term economic vitality to South Downtown” and that it will “create jobs, expand retail and dining opportunities, promote homeownership, and introduce new entertainment options.”

FAAM paid $34.5M, financed with a $33.7M loan provided by the land’s seller, an entity controlled by Atlanta food magnate Russell McCall. The original loan for the site was set to mature March 2 but was extended to April 1. Webstar defaulted on the loan, according to the firm’s annual report to the SEC.

Webstar struck an agreement in May with McCall to extend the maturity date to Oct. 1 on the condition that it would pay $1.9M in extension fees and interest over multiple installments. 

“We got the extension to October. We can do another one,” McClendon said. 

McCall confirmed Friday that the loan can be further extended.

McClendon said McCall’s financing offer was better than seeking a bridge loan from a traditional lender, especially since the site is already entitled for the project.

“Owner financing is the No. 1 option that any developer could wish for because your terms are more flexible with the owner,” McClendon said. “It's not a bank. You're not tied to certain things. You can actually be nimble and move and adjust.”

McClendon said he is in talks with potential construction lenders, potential equity investors and a “five-star” hotel operator for the project.

“We've got [a meeting and property tour] next week. We've got another one the week after with potential equity partners,” he said. “We're talking to a prominent hotel group to be the flag for Phase 1.”

The company has said it plans to pull several levers to fund Forge Atlanta. Earlier this year, Webstar announced that it would use the Torch-RWA platform to sell crypto tokens as a “digital accounting and payment system designed to operate alongside existing financial infrastructure.”

The firm has already reached agreements with three third parties to acquire condominiums in the Forge Atlanta project, each valued at $440K, according to Webstar’s annual report.

Investors Courted

Ruffin, a technology sales executive, co-founded the informal investor group in the middle of 2025, mainly to share investment best practices and stock tips. The group soon built up to some 25 members. 

In late November or early December, a member of the group, Sidney Phillips, was approached by an acquaintance he trusted about Webstar and the Forge Atlanta opportunity, Phillips told Bisnow. By mid-December, the group hosted a webinar with McClendon over the project, the first time members of the group entertained investing in anything outside of stocks.

According to Ruffin, the ante wasn’t too much money. McClendon told them that for a minimum of $5K apiece, he would grant them shares in Webstar at a discount, Ruffin said. 

The investors and McClendon met for a series of three online presentations between December and March, according to notes and a recording provided to Bisnow. No Webstar executives attended any of these meetings, Ruffin said. 

Phillips said he saw Webstar and McClendon as an opportunity for Black people to gain a share of the commercial real estate market in Metro Atlanta, one of its largest industries. He said he believes Black people have better CRE opportunities in Atlanta than in other major cities.

“I told my members, I said, ‘If we were in New York City and we came to the table with something like this, I wouldn't even take the meeting, because I know it wouldn't have an ice cube’s chance in hell of going anywhere in a city like New York and most other cities,’” Phillips said. 

On Dec. 30, McClendon, through Thunder Energy SPV No 1 LLC, pledged to give Ruffin more than 71,400 shares of Webstar common stock as a “personal allocation” by Thunder Energy, “before a public offering is made by [Webstar],” according to an agreement signed by McClendon and Ruffin and provided to Bisnow. 

Ruffin said investors expected to get their stock certificates a week or so after paying, but about three months went by, and nothing happened. During that period, Ruffin sent a series of text messages to McClendon asking about the delay. 

When Ruffin confronted McClendon on the lack of shares and asked for his money back, he was told that the investment was subject to a lockup period and the money was no longer available, Ruffin said. 

“We asked them if it was in escrow. He said no. He said it was for expenses,” Ruffin said. “He was just basically giving us kind of excuses on why the transfer was not completed.”

McClendon also allegedly failed to disclose that Webstar didn’t own the Forge Atlanta site outright. McClendon didn’t mention that detail during the series of three online presentations, according to notes provided to Bisnow. 

“Had we simply heard ‘seller financing,’ it would have been a hard ‘No. Thank you for your presentation,’” said Phillips, who didn’t ultimately contribute to the $20K. 

Ruffin said the belief that Webstar owned the parcel outright was critical to the group’s understanding of how the developer would finance Forge Atlanta. Ruffin said McClendon told him Webstar would be able to obtain further construction financing for the project “because the property was free and clear.”

On March 20, Ruffin sent a final message to McClendon asking for a refund of his investment dollars. 

“There has been no meaningful progress toward completing the share transfer over the past three months. This extended delay was not disclosed at the outset and is a significant concern,” Ruffin wrote. “This prolonged holding pattern has caused undue stress for both myself and my family, and I am seeking an immediate and amicable resolution.”

McClendon responded on March 21: “You have absolutely nothing to worry about. After your shares are transferred and you have your statement and you want me to sell your shares to someone new coming in, I can process that. You will just have to pay the transfer fee for that.”

Ruffin said he heard nothing back from McClendon until last week, after Bisnow began reaching out to McClendon and Webstar for this story. As of Friday, the money remained outstanding.