Joel Matthew Caswell spent years dodging creditors, stiffing contractors, and leaving unpaid bills across southern Oregon. Now the 31-year-old Jacksonville businessman sits in Jackson County Jail facing 23 federal felony charges after the FBI says he fraudulently obtained $224,000 in pandemic relief funds and spent part of it running professional Ultimate Frisbee teams.
His legal troubles didn’t stop there. While released pending trial on the joel matthew caswell fbi indictment, prosecutors say he fired gunshots into his ex-girlfriend’s occupied home on two consecutive nights. A federal judge has since denied bail three times.
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FBI Arrests Caswell on Wire Fraud and Tax Evasion Charges
The FBI arrested Caswell at his Jacksonville home on April 18, 2025. He appeared in U.S. District Court in Medford hours later, entered a not guilty plea, and walked out under supervised release.
Federal prosecutors charged him with:
- 4 counts of wire fraud
- 3 counts of tax evasion
- 1 count of aggravated identity theft
- 15 counts of failure to collect or pay over taxes
The indictment alleges Caswell fraudulently applied for and received funds from the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program between 2018 and 2022. Both programs were designed to help small businesses survive the coronavirus pandemic by covering payroll, rent, and other expenses.
Caswell had other plans, according to court documents.
Federal Funds Allegedly Paid for Ultimate Frisbee Teams
Prosecutors say Caswell funneled approximately $70,000 of the federal money into Pearl Sports Group, his company that owned two semi-professional Ultimate Frisbee teams in Portland.
He owned the Portland Nitro, which played in the Ultimate Frisbee Association, and the Oregon Onyx in the Western Ultimate League. Court records show he used the money to rent Providence Park in Portland for home games. Caswell even played for the Nitro, scoring 13 goals during two seasons.
The teams collapsed under the same problem that plagued his contracting businesses. Nobody got paid.
Players covered their own flights, rental cars, and hotel rooms for road games. Reimbursement checks never arrived. Aly Steinfeld, head of marketing for the Western Ultimate League, said league officials tried repeatedly to resolve the payment issues with Caswell.
Both leagues eventually voted to remove his teams. Caswell shut down Oregon Onyx in 2023. He sold the Portland Nitro to new owners in 2024, who rebranded it as Oregon Steel.
More Than $630,000 in Unpaid Civil Judgments
The federal charges didn’t surprise anyone who’d done business with Caswell.
He registered his first company, South Bay Logging, in 2013 at age 19. Over the next decade, he created roughly 20 business entities through the Oregon Secretary of State. Jackson County Circuit Court records show dozens of civil lawsuits against him and his companies.
The recorded judgments exceed $630,000. Nearly all remain unpaid.
Moore Construction sued Caswell and three of his companies in March 2025 for $158,307 in unpaid work on a Medford building. Alex Poythress, the company’s CEO and a former Medford City Council member, had known Caswell for years.
“Joel made a living off the trust of businesses like ours, stringing people along until there was nothing left to recover,” Poythress said after the arrest. “This indictment is long overdue.”
Elderly Couple Says Caswell Threatened to Destroy Their Bridge
Kenneth Kudrna and Ronda Wilkinson hired Caswell in 2024 to build a bridge on their Wilderville property for $101,700. They paid him $50,850 upfront. He never finished the work.
When the elderly couple demanded their money back, Caswell filed a lien against their property and threatened to remove an existing bridge they relied on. They filed an elder abuse restraining order against him and sued for $152,000.
Tim Thompson, Caswell’s former business partner, fired him as timber and land manager in February 2023 after federal agents raided their company offices in August 2022. Thompson expelled Caswell from their partnership six months later.
Thompson won three separate civil judgments against Caswell totaling more than $56,000. None have been satisfied.
Business associates started calling Caswell “Teflon Joel,” comparing him to mob boss John Gotti, who repeatedly escaped legal consequences.
Drive-By Shootings Violated Federal Release Conditions
Caswell’s supervised release came with conditions. He had to obey all laws, stop moving assets between his companies, surrender his passport, and avoid international travel.
On July 26 and 27, 2025, someone fired gunshots into a home on Carnelian Street in northeast Medford around 1:15 a.m. on both nights. The home belonged to Caswell’s former girlfriend. Medford police connected Caswell to the shootings through surveillance footage showing his pickup truck.
Police arrested him on August 27, 2025. He now faces state charges of unlawful use of a weapon, recklessly endangering another person, and first-degree criminal mischief.
Federal Judge Calls Caswell a Con Man
Chief U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane presides over Caswell’s federal case from the courthouse in Eugene. He denied Caswell’s requests for release three separate times between October and December 2025.
During a December hearing, the judge didn’t hold back.
“Mr. Caswell, your attorney’s doing a remarkable job of trying to downplay a mounting landslide of evidence, but you’re coming across as a con man, and that’s the bottom line,” McShane said. “Even your own family believes you’re a con man.”
Prosecutors presented evidence that Caswell violated multiple release conditions beyond the shootings. He allegedly traveled to Germany and Switzerland using a relative’s identification after authorities seized his passport. He continued moving assets between business accounts without reporting it. Officers found $4,500 in unreported cash when they arrested him.
Wife Files for Divorce, Testifies Against Him
Ellie Caswell filed for divorce and appeared in court to describe how her husband moved their marital assets into a family trust. His father then used the trust to evict her from their home and repossess her vehicle. Caswell’s brother sold her car online.
“I no longer identify as Joel’s partner or spouse,” she told the court. “I identify as one of his victims.”
Federal Trial Delayed Multiple Times
Caswell remains in Jackson County Jail on a federal hold. His case was initially set for trial on June 24, 2025, then moved to November 17, 2025. Both dates passed without trial.
A federal status conference is scheduled for February 17, 2026, at the Wayne L. Morse U.S. Courthouse in Eugene. His state charges related to the shootings have a settlement conference set for February 27, 2026.
If convicted on all federal charges, Caswell faces decades in prison. Wire fraud carries up to 20 years per count. Tax evasion carries up to 5 years per count. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory minimum of 2 years.
For the local businesses and individuals Caswell allegedly defrauded over the past decade, the federal prosecution represents the first time he’s faced serious consequences. Unlike the civil judgments he ignored, federal criminal convictions come with prison time he can’t avoid.
