PETERSBURG, Va. — In October 2020, the business owned by Sheila Bynum-Coleman and her husband, Rashad Coleman, purchased 12 properties from the City of Petersburg at a deep discount, according to city records available online.
J C Bynum Construction LLC paid $1,200 for each property, according to records on the City Assessor’s website, located on three streets: Wilson Street, Shore Street and Bolling Street.
They promised to help revitalize the area, and, according to a Progress Index article from 2024, build “affordable tiny luxury homes.”
Longtime city resident Barb Rudolph remembers the transactions.
“One member of City Council questioned doing business with her because of some of her past, but the rest of them were enthusiastic, and she was sold these properties for a small amount of money,” Rudolph remembered.
That past involved Bynum-Coleman accepting a plea deal in a revenge porn case earlier that year after losing a run for the House of Delegates in 2019.
Since then, Bynum-Coleman and her husband have built and sold seven houses on the properties, according to records on the City Assessor’s website.
Each one sold for $240,000 or more.
Five of the properties are still listed as belonging to J C Bynum Construction LLC.
“The city was essentially giving them away, but they’ve done that with a lot of developers, so I don’t think she had a special deal,” Rudolph said.
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J C Bynum Construction LLC is one of the businesses listed in a federal indictment against Bynum-Coleman and her husband, which accuses the couple of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud and making false statements on loan applications.
Prosecutors accuse them both of fraudulently obtaining at least $225,000 in COVID-related government funds by filing false claims and submitting false statements to the Virginia Employment Commission to receive unemployment insurance benefits.
In her bio on her business website, Bynum-Coleman claims she “partnered with the City of Petersburg on a revitalization project where we’re building affordable housing.”
Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham told CBS 6 investigative reporter Melissa Hipolit that was “fake news” when asked about it.
Joanne Williams, a spokeswoman for Petersburg, said, "The City has no partnership or relationship with Ms. Coleman or her company.”
“I think having a development agreement with the city, and then stretching that out into something it sounds like what she is saying — that’s a big leap,” Rudolph said.
CBS 6 reached out to Bynum-Coleman to try to get her side of the story. We were waiting to hear back as of Thursday at 5 p.m.
We are following this story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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