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Aspiring equestrian center developer James W. Millegan, also known as J.W. Millegan, last week was in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for evading payment of more than $2.5 million in personal income taxes, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office (District of Oregon).

Millegan, 65, of McMinnville, also was ordered to pay more than $2.5 million in restitution to the IRS and more than $1.4 million to 12 former clients. From 1996 to 2016 he owned and operated J.W. Millegan Inc. (JWMI), a commission-based investment advisory business that served clients in the Portland and Salem areas.

Millegan reportedly used his tax evasion proceeds to fund an extravagant lifestyle that included a $4.5 million home in the Dunthorpe area near Portland, a $1.3 million beach house in Gleneden Beach, Rolls Royce and Bentley automobiles, and equestrian expenses like stabling and lessons.

He attempted to establish Wallace Bridge, a planned world-class equestrian competition center and resort near Sheridan (between Oregon routes 18 and 22). The ambitious development would have included a gallop track, polo fields, and steeplechase facilities, as well as a five-star luxury resort, an RV park, a distillery, a brewpub, and cobblestone plazas.

Millegan touted that just one two-day horse show with 1,000 horses could bring as much as $4 million into nearby cities. If shows were held regularly, they could bring in $167 million annually from horse enthusiasts visiting areas around the state, he claimed.

Those dreams for the sprawling, 325-acre equestrian center ended in 2014 when the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which holds a wetlands conservation easement on the potential property, to modify the easement for the center.

Millegan closed JWMI in 2016, partly because a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel determined he churned the investment accounts of 12 clients, collecting more than $2.5 million in trading commissions.

Millegan was by a federal grand jury in Portland on Nov. 21, 2019. Later, on February 17, 2022, he was charged by superseding indictment with wire fraud and tax evasion.

On Nov. 14, 2022, Millegan was on one count of tax evasion.