Houston wedding scammer linked to Austin SXSW fraud

Wedding venue scammer pulled fraud on SXSW

Well, the wedding scammer hits Austin and is accused of falsifying documents to land a South by Southwest Conference deal that cost Axios Media nearly $80,000. Our Abigail Dye broke the story of this man's fraudulent activity in the Houston area. She's continuing to following that trail.

HOUSTON - A man already accused of swindling couples out of hundreds of thousands of dollars at a Montgomery County wedding venue is now facing new allegations in Austin.

Austin Case: Axios SXSW Deal

What we know:

Court documents allege Carl John Butcho II, who uses the alias Lance Miller, rented a downtown Austin property in October 2024 from Ironwood Real Estate using a fake bank statement claiming $4.7 million in funds. Investigators say he then wrote rent checks on closed accounts that later bounced.

"He present[ed] false information to secure the lease, so that's the key piece of it," said Austin Police detective Joshua Metteauer.

Before Ironwood discovered the fraud, Butcho allegedly secured a deal with Axios Media to host events during the South by Southwest conference, according to documents. They say Axios wired Butcho nearly $80,000 in November 2024 for the venue.

"It's my belief that he had no intent of paying Ironwood Real Estate, so he could secure the venue with Axios and just get Axios' money," said Metteauer.

Austin police arrested Butcho earlier this month on a warrant out of Montgomery County and filed their own charges related to the fraudulent lease and the Axios payments.

The documents say the signatory on the closed account Butcho used to write bounced checks from was Barrett P. Walters. Records say Butcho used 9116 SGLNTPL, LLC at his entity name when signing the rental agreement with Ironwood and that Walters is registered as an agent for the LLC. The documents say investigators believe Walters and Butcho may be married, but there is no record of an official marriage.

Detectives say as of now, Walters is not being charged with any crimes.

New details in the Charleston Lane Wedding Venue case

Dig deeper:

The Austin allegations come on top of an ongoing criminal case in Montgomery County, where investigators say Butcho ran a long-running scam through the Charleston Lane Wedding Venue in Willis, Texas.

The documents say in November 2021, Butcho, using the alias Lance Miller, leased the Charleston Lane venue from the owner. The documents say in March 2025 the property owner terminated that lease due to Butcho not paying rent.

The documents say though the lease was terminated, the owner agreed to allow Butcho honor a list of pre-booked weddings through August 2025. The weddings were scheduled for the following dates: May 02, 2025, May 09, 2025, May 17, 2025, May 25, 2025, June 05, 2025, June 20, 2025, June 28, 2025, July 19, 2025, August 30, 2025. Documents say none of those weddings happened despite Butcho being allowed to host them.

The documents also allege that Butcho continued to accept payments from couples after March 2025 despite losing access to do so. Many brides and grooms arrived to find the venue locked, or never received promised refunds.

Detectives with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office say at least 12 victims have come forward, reporting losses totaling more than $200,000 for weddings that never took place. The documents say another five couples held weddings at Charleston Lane, but were still owed money for missing services like fireworks, tables, or security deposits - adding about $11,000 more.

The alleged scheme stretched from May 2023 through August 2025, according to court records.

FOX 26 Investigation

The backstory:

Montgomery County authorities say FOX 26 reports helped launch their official investigation.

In May, FOX 26 broke the story of a Houston bride who lost more than $50,000 after showing up to the venue the day before her wedding to locked doors.

After the first two stories aired, the Montgomery County District Attorney confirmed that the sheriff's office launched an investigation into the matter.

FOX 26 continued to report and compiled a list of victims and began tracking total losses of those affected.

Shortly after, the man in question was identified by his alias "Lance Miller" and details of the investigation were made public.

Years-long investigative podcast

Big picture view:

FOX26 reached out to journalist Justin Sayles, the host of ‘The Wedding Scammer’ podcast, before airing the first Charleston Lane story.

Sayles had known Butcho's real name from the beginning of FOX 26's investigation, because he began his several years earlier.

"For five years roughly I have been tracking down every lead," he said. "It has gone through California, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston - all over the place."

Through his investigation, he says many people have filed civil suits against Butcho - but this is the first time in decades that he has been criminally charged for his alleged fraudulent activity.

"You had a multi-year investigative podcast that established a pattern of behavior. You also had victims who were very resolute to do something," he said. "Rather than rolling over, they really stepped up and organized, and they went to you, they went to the media, went to the police, they stayed very on top of it."