Mobile Arena Nears Completion After $14.7M Fraud Loss
Regions Arena is 75 percent complete, with the city expecting to finish slightly under its $300 million budget despite losing $14.7 million to fraudsters.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Financial Crime
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Mobile city officials said Regions Arena is 75 percent complete and on track to finish slightly under budget. The project was affected by a fraud in which criminals impersonating contractor B.L. Harbert International obtained $14.7 million in city funds.
Why it matters
The fraud exposed weaknesses in how the city verifies payment instructions for a major public construction project. Officials say the project remains on schedule and under budget, but the loss highlights the financial risks of large municipal contracts.
The city recovered nearly $1 million of the August wire, but the remaining losses from the October $14.7 million transfer are not described as recovered. Officials have not indicated how the remaining funds will be pursued.
The players
B.L. Harbert International
B.L. Harbert International is a construction company that served as the arena's contractor, and its identity was impersonated in the fraud.
The details
Fraudsters impersonated B.L. Harbert International and persuaded the city to change its email and banking information, then received $14.7 million in a wire sent with the October monthly payment. A cyberattack that compromised the city's IT system had earlier been linked to a fraud attempt in August.
Timeline
August 12: Fraudulent transfer instructions were sent through the compromised IT system.
August 13: The city wired the fraudulent transfer funds.
August 18: The city recovered nearly $1 million of the wired funds.
October: The $14.7 million fraudulent wire was sent with the monthly payment.
March 25: Main construction is expected to be finished.
Legal Context
The Mobile fraud follows a pattern of business email compromise schemes in which criminals impersonate vendors to redirect municipal payments. Such cases typically hinge on whether the public entity's payment verification procedures were followed.
Mobile residents will see the arena open in time for its first event in March, though the city's budget absorbed a significant fraud loss. The episode underscores why local governments are tightening verification steps for vendor payment changes.
The takeaway
Verifying changes to vendor banking details before releasing payments is a basic safeguard that can prevent large losses on public projects. The Mobile case shows how a single unverified change can divert millions even when a project is otherwise on track.
What happens next
Another Finance Committee meeting is scheduled for two weeks, and back-of-the-house work will continue until the end of April.
Further reading
For more on similar schemes, see Financial Crime coverage.
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