Posted on 02/13/2013 6:58:14 PM PST by DogByte6RER
Radio Talk Show Host Charged with Mortgage Fraud
Warren Ballentine, 41, Durham, North Carolina, and formerly of Country Club Hills, Illinois, a lawyer who hosts a national radio talk show, was indicted on federal charges for allegedly engaging in two mortgage fraud schemes that defrauded lenders of a total of approximately $9.7 million.
The defendant allegedly schemed with others to obtain more than two dozen fraudulent mortgage loans and represented buyers at multiple closings, knowing that they were fraudulently qualified for loans to purchase homes in Chicago, Illinois, and various southern suburbs.
Ballentine owns the Law Office of Warren Ballentine, LLC, in Country Club Hills. He was charged with two counts of bank fraud, two counts of making false statements to lenders, and one count each of mail fraud and wire fraud in a six-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of approximately $9,775,000 in alleged fraud proceeds.
Ballentine is scheduled to be arraigned before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in Federal Court in Chicago.'
According to the indictment, between December 2004 and February 2005, Ballentine schemed with others to fraudulently cause various lenders to make at least eight loans totaling approximately $3.6 million by making false statements in loan documents, including applications, HUD-1 settlement statements, and occupancy statements concerning the buyers' intention to occupy the homes they purchased as a primary residence.
Ballentine then represented buyers recruited by others at real estate closings, knowing that they had signed and submitted false documents and had been fraudulently qualified to purchase the properties in Chicago, Monee, Woodridge, and Mokena, Illinois.
Between February 2005 and May 2006, Ballentine allegedly engaged in a similar, separate scheme with others to fraudulently cause various lenders to make at least 20 loans totaling approximately $6.1 million by making false statements in mortgage documents, including the buyers' intention to occupy the homes as a primary residence. Ballentine also represented these buyers at closings, knowing that they had been fraudulently qualified for the loans based on false documents, including some that Ballentine advised them to sign at closings. These homes were scattered throughout Chicago and other suburbs, including Country Club Hills, Richton Park, and Markham, Illinois.
Each count of the indictment carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine or, as an alternative, the Court may impose a fine of twice the gross gain or twice the loss, whichever is greater, and restitution is mandatory. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The indictment was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Thomas P. Brady, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Yonan.
The only part of this story that shocks me is that this guy is being prosecuted in ILLINOIS !!! Holy crap.
More background on Warren Ballentine as covered by The New York Times ...
“Black Radio on Obama Is Left’s Answer to Limbaugh”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/us/politics/27radio.html?ref=politics
Never mentions he is a Barokofile. Just to stupid and obviously arrogant to think because he is a lefty that the media will let him slide.
Typical amoral Progressive........
Wait! Does Tony Rezko and Obama come to mind when talking Chicago and mortgage fraud? Could there be a connection here? Inquiring minds want to know....
Wait! Does Tony Rezko and Obama come to mind when talking Chicago and mortgage fraud? Could there be a connection here? Inquiring minds want to know....
Obama's "community organizing" left Chicago neighborhoods in ruins.
Grim proving ground for Obama's housing policy"About 99 of the units are vacant, many rendered uninhabitable by unfixed problems, such as collapsed roofs and fire damage. Mice scamper through the halls. Battered mailboxes hang open. Sewage backs up into kitchen sinks. In 2006, federal inspectors graded the condition of the complex an 11 on a 100-point scale - a score so bad the buildings now face demolition."
The only difference between this guy and the average slug being foreclosed on is the amount of money involved. (Yes, it once was a crime to borrow money with no intent of ever paying it back.)
EVERY BODY that OSAMA Obama has done business with I would consider an act of fraud, deceite, and crime.....(etc).
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