The City of St. Louis awarded nearly a million dollars in federal COVID relief money to a company owned by a man with a federal fraud conviction on record. When journalists asked how — the city's answer raised questions that demand a federal response.
The City of St. Louis confirmed, on the record, that its $37 million federal grant program was designed with no criminal background screening whatsoever — and then awarded nearly one million federal dollars to a man who had already pleaded guilty to lying to a federal judge. That same man told that federal court he was earning $1,800 a month — while simultaneously withdrawing $569,000 from a company bank account.
According to federal court records from the Eastern District of Missouri, Kenneth Hutchinson — owner of Global 9 LLC — pleaded guilty to federal bankruptcy fraud. He admitted under oath that he lied to a federal bankruptcy judge, concealed over $1.4 million in assets, hid bank accounts and real estate, and misrepresented his income to deceive creditors and a court-appointed trustee. Under federal sentencing guidelines he faced 6–12 months in prison. He received house arrest.
The federal indictment details are striking. While Hutchinson told the bankruptcy court he was earning only $1,800 a month, records show he had withdrawn $569,000 from a company bank account in 2012 and 2013 alone. He failed to disclose a 2006 Land Rover and a 2000 Corvette. He listed himself as merely an independent contractor for his own company while simultaneously owning and operating multiple businesses and real estate. This was not a paperwork error — it was a methodical, sustained deception of a federal court.
Today, Hutchinson's public professional profile claims that Global 9 has led "over $150 million in single family, affordable and mixed-use projects" throughout the St. Louis metro area. That is a significant claim for a man with a federal fraud conviction. A question no one has yet publicly answered: how much of that $150 million involved public money, tax credits, historic preservation credits, or government subsidies — and was his federal conviction ever disclosed in those applications?
Years after the bankruptcy conviction, according to SLDC's own public announcements, Hutchinson's company Global 9 LLC was conditionally awarded nearly $1,000,000 in federal ARPA/COVID relief money — funds sent to St. Louis specifically to help small businesses and communities recover from the pandemic. His proposal: converting a vacant building into a business headquarters.
When First Alert 4 / KMOV investigated and asked SLDC directly, the city confirmed the award and stated on the record that criminal records were not part of their scoring criteria. Not an oversight discovered after the fact. A confirmed, stated policy. Federal money. No fraud screening. By design.
This report does not speculate beyond the public record. It presents what is documented, asks the questions oversight agencies must answer, and ensures that the people of St. Louis — especially those on the North Side who needed this money and were told there wasn't enough — have the full picture.
The bankruptcy fraud was not a one-time mistake. Per the federal indictment, Hutchinson claimed $1,800/month in income while withdrawing $569,000 from a company account over two years. He failed to disclose a Land Rover, a Corvette, multiple real estate holdings, and multiple bank accounts — all while presenting himself to a federal court as nearly insolvent. After pleading guilty, he was separately sued by the St. Louis City Collector of Revenue for delinquent personal property taxes (22nd Judicial Circuit Court, public record). The same city that sued him for unpaid taxes later awarded his company nearly a million dollars in federal relief money.
"Criminal records were not part of their scoring criteria for the grants."
— SLDC, on the record, First Alert 4 / KMOV investigative report, September 12, 2024The St. Louis Development Corporation designed and administered a $37 million federal grant program that deliberately contained no criminal background screening. This was confirmed in response to direct journalist questioning — not discovered as a gap. Federal COVID relief dollars. No filter for fraud. Confirmed by the city in its own words. That is the documented public record.
"Agitated, aggravated, still angry. I can't sleep at night knowing that somebody has done an injustice to myself, as well as other business owners."
— Tameka Stigers, North Side small business owner, denied COVID relief funding — St. Louis, 2024This was not abstract bureaucratic money. This was $37 million in federal COVID relief sent to St. Louis specifically for the businesses, organizations, and communities of the North Side — an area that had already endured over a century of documented government disinvestment, redlining, and economic neglect. Business owners waited years. They filled out applications. They attended community meetings. They jumped through every hoop they were given.
Below is the contrast between what some of those real business owners experienced — and what the program actually awarded to others. All facts are from published news reporting.
The money was supposed to go to people like these. The program was explicitly designed — and publicly sold — as a way to reverse over a century of economic discrimination against North Side communities. When Tameka Stigers and others discovered who had won the largest awards, they didn't just complain. They showed up. They went public. They demanded answers. This report exists, in part, because of them.
"If even one or two out of these hundreds of grants were done in a way that smells funny, that threatens to undermine this really important program."
— Benjamin Singer, CEO, Show Me Integrity — good governance organization, St. LouisEvery event drawn from federal court records or verified published reporting. Click any item to expand the full detail.
All descriptions based solely on federal court records, official public statements, and verified investigative reporting. No claim goes beyond the documented public record.
These are not accusations. These are the questions any responsible federal or state investigation should be able to answer from the record. Click each one.
This table separates what is confirmed in the public record from what remains unanswered. Every confirmed item has a named source.
| Fact / Event | Status | Primary Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hutchinson pleaded guilty to federal bankruptcy fraud | Confirmed | Federal court records, EDMO; DOJ press release |
| Hutchinson admitted hiding $1.4M+ in assets from a federal judge | Confirmed | Federal plea agreement, EDMO |
| Hutchinson claimed $1,800/month income while withdrawing $569,000 from company account | Confirmed | Federal indictment, EDMO, April 2015 |
| Hutchinson failed to disclose a 2006 Land Rover and 2000 Corvette in bankruptcy filings | Confirmed | Federal indictment, EDMO, April 2015 |
| St. Louis City Collector of Revenue filed suit against Hutchinson for delinquent personal property taxes | Confirmed | 22nd Judicial Circuit Court, St. Louis; public court record |
| Global 9 LLC conditionally awarded ~$1M in ARPA funds | Confirmed | SLDC public announcement; First Alert 4/KMOV |
| SLDC stated on record: criminal history not in scoring criteria | Confirmed | SLDC, on the record, First Alert 4/KMOV, Sept. 2024 |
| Clark Hubbard sponsored program eligibility expansion legislation | Confirmed | St. Louis Board of Aldermen records |
| Clark Hubbard sits on SLDC Board overseeing the program | Confirmed | SLDC Board of Directors public records |
| ~$1.3M conditionally awarded to Clark Hubbard family network | Confirmed | SLDC records; Post-Dispatch investigative reporting |
| Clark Hubbard family nonprofit formed one month after her legislation passed | Confirmed | State incorporation records; Post-Dispatch reporting |
| Comptroller Green formally called for full program restart | Confirmed | Comptroller's formal public report, October 2024 |
| City cancelled $1.7M+ in conditional awards under pressure | Confirmed | SLDC announcement; Post-Dispatch, December 2024 |
| Senator Schmitt contacted U.S. Treasury Dept. about program | Confirmed | Post-Dispatch reporting; Senate correspondence |
| SLDC doubled consultant contract to $344,000 mid-program | Confirmed | Post-Dispatch investigative reporting |
| Multiple awardees had addresses at vacant buildings or outside eligible area | Confirmed | Post-Dispatch site visits and investigative reporting |
| Whether Global 9 / Hutchinson award was formally cancelled | Unconfirmed | Not publicly confirmed by SLDC as of this report |
| Whether any ARPA funds were disbursed to Global 9 LLC | Unconfirmed | City declined to confirm or deny |
| Who authored the no-criminal-screening policy and when | Unconfirmed | SLDC declined to release full program design records |
| Whether Hutchinson's conviction was disclosed in prior public subsidy/tax credit applications | Unconfirmed | Not investigated publicly; warrants separate inquiry |
| Full scoring sheets for all large-dollar awards | Not Released | SLDC initially denied media requests; partial portal released |
"The public has lost trust in SLDC's Northside ARPA-funded grant process. The taxpayers are not being protected."
— St. Louis Comptroller Darlene Green — Formal Public Report, October 2024Federal complaints have already been filed. But accountability requires volume. The more people on the record — the harder this is to ignore, bury, or wait out. Every submission counts.
This report contains no speculation, no anonymous accusations, and no claims that go beyond the documented public record. Verify everything yourself.
This report is published in the public interest by an anonymous civic journalist. All facts stated herein are drawn exclusively from federal court records, official public agency announcements, on-the-record statements made to journalists, Missouri state records, and verified investigative reporting published by licensed news organizations. No claim in this report goes beyond what is established in those primary public sources. This report does not assert criminal conduct beyond what has been adjudicated in federal court. Questions raised are offered as matters of legitimate public inquiry and civic accountability — not as accusations of criminal wrongdoing. Readers are strongly encouraged to review all primary sources cited and form their own independent conclusions.
This report has no affiliation with any political party, campaign, candidate, or commercial interest. It is not funded by any organization. It exists solely in the public interest.
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