SOLD: Gladwyne’s Infamous “Teen Cribs”/Pouls Family Fraud House!


Michael Pouls was in real estate. He made a bundle. He and his wife Sheryl bought an outrageously ostentatious home–six-bedrooms, 8 1/2 baths, 15,300 square feet–in Gladwyne on Mirabeau Lane. Their ostentation alienated neighbors but attracted the attention of MTV, which featured daughter Samantha’s “princess palace” on Season Two, Episode 9 of Teen Cribs.

Sweet Samantha had a dressing room large enough for half the homeless people in Philadelphia. She enjoyed rides in her elevator. She showed off the indoor pool and was especially fond of the observatory with Daddy’s antique telescope. The ice cream parlor? That was okay too.

Philly Mag featured the Pouls family in 2007 due to a battle with their younger daughter’s teacher at Baldwin. It was a slice-of-life piece that revealed what it was like to be nouveau riche on the Main Line, and it wasn’t flattering to the Poulses. Even less flattering were the charges of fraud brought against him last year. From the Inquirer:

A prominent Main Line developer was charged yesterday by the federal government in a fraud scheme in which he allegedly induced several local banks to lend him more than $13.3 million.

Michael Pouls, 50, devised a scheme in May 2007 to obtain bank loans from National Penn Bank and the former Wilmington Trust Bank, federal prosecutors said. They said he faked statements showing he had $28.5 million in TD Ameritrade accounts to use as collateral for the loans while in reality he had $3,000.

The house was built for $22 million originally, but suffered a series of price drops. A tipster tells us it has finally sold for $3.8 million, its last asking price.