Rev. Delman Coates, senior pastor of Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Maryland, has sued the estate of Rhode Island attorney Ronald W. Dunbar Jr. and others, alleging he was defrauded of millions in a real estate lending scheme, according to an 18-count, 24-page complaint filed last month in Kent County Superior Court.
Mt. Ennon Baptist Church directed questions to Coates’ attorney and said the dispute “is a personal matter for Dr. Coates. Mt. Ennon Baptist Church is not involved in this matter in any way.”
What the lawsuit says
Coates’ attorneys assert: “Between December 2024 and April 2025, Plaintiff Delman Coates advanced no less than $2,850,000 in loans that Attorney Ronald W. Dunbar, Jr. proposed, structured, drafted, personally guaranteed, and serviced through his law firm’s client trust account.”
The complaint states that on Nov. 14, 2025, Dunbar “computed in writing that he owed Plaintiff $4,442,877.18,” and on Apr. 10, 2026, “promised in writing that if sued he would assert no defenses and would agree to immediate judgment for the full amount owed.” According to the filing, only $400,000 was paid in three unallocated wires in 2026, and Dunbar died on July 28, 2026.
How the lending started
The suit says Massachusetts developer Richard Egan introduced Coates to Dunbar in 2024 and vouched for him. Early short-term loans were repaid with fees, which the complaint says led Coates to fund construction loans tied to Dunbar’s real estate business, including the Orchard Condominium project in West Warwick, Rhode Island.
Dispute over the condo project
According to the lawsuit, Coates’ construction loans to Five Five Plus, LLC were induced by written descriptions of “a 139-unit condominium development with 72 to 74 units built and sold.” The complaint contrasts that with records showing the condominium declaration capped the project at 108 units, the local planning board approved 107, only 43 units were declared when Coates lent, and the completed project comprises 53 units. It alleges 49 units have been sold for approximately $6.6 million “in proceeds that were diverted while Plaintiff went unpaid.”
Security and repayment claims
Coates alleges he entered into construction loan agreements that were to be secured by real estate but says he never received a mortgage, promissory note, or financing statement. From September 2025 forward, the complaint says, Dunbar wrote that personal injury settlements had been paid and that the entire development was under a signed $8,575,000 purchase-and-sale agreement whose closing would make Coates whole. The filing states no such closing occurred, no trace appears in land records, and public filings for the purported buyer do not identify a buyer principal.
The complaint adds that Dunbar later executed a written agreement providing that if certain payments were not made by Dec. 10, 2025, 100% ownership of the West Warwick development would be transferred to Coates. The suit says only about $400,000 has been paid and no transfer occurred.
Defendants and remedies sought
Named defendants include the Estate of Ronald W. Dunbar Jr., Five Five Plus, LLC, Dunbar Law PC, Joseph Riley, Jennifer Riley, Jeffry Pike, and Brian Tischler. Coates asks the court for money damages, restitution, imposition of the promised security by equitable mortgage, and other remedies, including transfer of ownership of four units in the West Warwick development that the suit says remain in Five Five’s name.
Other reported complaints
The article cites local media reports suggesting at least nine other people have alleged Dunbar scammed them in similar real estate schemes totaling about $9 million.
