FBI Fakeout? Southern Pines Development site offers promises but no substance

A legitimate business website lures in visitors. It's chock full of information to connect you with its products and services, to give you a sense of its culture, its people, its mission.

And then there's the website for Southern Pines Development, LLC.

The bare-bones site was on the business card of the elusive "Mike Miller" who met with local movers and shakers last year, pitching a south side mixed-use development. Miller presented himself as a developer from Atlanta. But sources close to persons of interest in the investigation of the city and its redevelopment agency said he was an undercover FBI agent.

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A Google search for "Southern Pines Development" doesn't bring up the website, but Southernpinesdevelopment.com will get you there. The simple site has just three pages with a home, an about us and a contact tab. That's as deep as it goes.

Unlike other developer websites, there is no indication of where Southern Pines Development actually develops things, no hint the company has ever moved any dirt. There are no examples of current or past projects. No renderings of potential developments. No testimonials or lists of past clients.

And good luck finding any real human beings. There is no list of leadership. No names. No faces. Stock images are the only photos on the site. There's a city skyline, a crane behind a building and a handsome man in a hard hat holding blueprints -- and that man appears on a whole lot of websites ranging from roofing to remodeling sites. 

A prospective client would have a tough time getting in touch. The contact page has no phone number.

Visitors are given the option to receive email updates or schedule an appointment by filling out a form. The site does list an address to a large, nondescript Atlanta office complex that is home to many other businesses.

The company was registered with the Georgia Corporations Division on July 15, 2015. Its website was created with GoDaddy.com's website builder less than a month later on Aug. 3. It was renewed last year and is set to expire next month. The owner's name is protected by both GoDaddy and a Whois privacy service so it can't be found in internet searches.

But for all its generic anonymity, the website makes specific and grand promises, claiming the business is "an industry leader in real estate development and investment," offering opportunities to "invest in your future."

The site further boasts the company is an "experienced real estate development corporation that specializes in land, building, and project development." The list of services it provides is impressive: market research, site selection, property acquisition, financing options, project design and demolition/construction.

The site notes Southern Pines Development is "always looking for complementary services to offer our clients."

"Southern Pines Development, LLC has the connections and resources to make your vision come to life."

Contact Ashley White at adwhite@tallahassee.com