Jose Lantigua’s family appeared to be living the American Dream. The Cuban immigrant claimed he had a heroic military career and earned numerous degrees before running a successful furniture business. He owned a Florida beachfront condo and a new home atop a verdant North Carolina mountain.
But in 2012, as his Circle K Furniture slid deeper into debt, those who knew Lantigua said he’d made some odd decisions: he ordered tons of new furniture on the company dime for his family’s many homes. He replaced the bookkeeper he’d used for years with a relative. He built a panic room with steel doors inside his North Carolina hideaway.
