Sherman Roberts, a 70-year-old Dallas real estate developer, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bribery for offering bribes to two city officials in exchange for support for his housing projects. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, Roberts bribed City Council members, including Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway and Council Member Carolyn Davis, to secure loans and low-income housing tax credits for his apartment developments.
Between 2016 and 2018, Roberts provided several thousand dollars in cash and promised future payments to Davis, who used her position to help secure city resources for Roberts’s projects, such as Serenity Place, Runyon Springs, and Patriot’s Crossing. Davis lobbied for Roberts’s projects, including recommending a 9% low-income housing tax credit for Serenity Place, pressuring other developers to withdraw their applications, and voting to approve a $1.9 million loan from the City of Dallas for the project.
The department reported that, following the vote, Roberts texted Davis, “Right now you and me are making money,” suggesting the payoff for the bribes. Shortly after, Davis reached out to Roberts for more funds, to which he agreed.
In a separate deal, Roberts and Davis met with Caraway, where Roberts provided several hundred dollars in cash and agreed to pay Caraway $2,000 a month in exchange for Caraway’s help in blocking a city request for proposal (RFP) for the Patriot’s Crossing project and ensuring that Roberts’s development had exclusive access.
Roberts now faces up to five years in federal prison for his role in the bribery conspiracy. His sentencing is scheduled for March 12, 2025.
This case follows the previous convictions of both Caraway and Davis. Caraway pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and tax evasion, and he was sentenced to more than four years in prison. Davis, who also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery involving a local government official, tragically died in a car crash before she could be sentenced.