Radio host charged in $10 million mortgage fraud

by Scott on May 5, 2013

A famous radio host slash attorney in the South Suburbs, Warren Ballentine, who calls himself the “people’s attorney” – is facing charges in a mortgage fraud scheme totaling $10 million. The charges were announced today by federal officials.

According to the US Attorney’s office in Chicago, a federal grand jury indicted Mr. Ballentine last week for his participation in a scheme where he worked with a variety of others to defraud lenders in approximately 30 phony mortgage loans. Mr. Ballentine was indicted last week by a federal grand jury for defrauding lenders by scheming with others to obtain nearly 30 bogus mortgage loans, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago.

Warren Ballentine has his own website where he prides himself on being “The People’s Attorney”. His email address attests even more to this, as the name on the address is interestingly listed as “truthfighters.” The WSRB 106.3 FM web site states that Mr. Ballentine is on air five days a week on the morning show between 9 am and 11 am. Additionally, he hosts a show on WVON Radio, Monday through Friday from 3 am to 6 am.

“Atlanta Attorney Paul Stogner” clearly states on his Facebook page that he is INNOCENT. He says, “For the record I’m innocent. I made a standard fee on closings. In Illinois a buyer’s attorney doesn’t handle any of the documents till closing so as this proceed u will see that I’m in this because I have a name. No big payday no knowledge of the paperwork. I know some may say everybody says their innocent. Well I am if u ever bought a house how much you pay ur lawyer 500 bucks at the most what lawyer would be part of a scheme and make a standard fee? INNOCENT.”

Prosecutors are alleging that Warren Ballentine, 41, assisted others in securing approximately 30 mortgages. In these 30 mortgage schemes, buyers were able to qualify for said mortgages by submitting false loan documents. According to prosecutors, Ballentine helped obtain nearly 30 mortgages in which buyers were fraudulently qualified for loans based on false documents. The schemes took place between December of 2004 through May of 2006.

Warren Ballentine still keeps his law office where he acts as “The People’s Attorney” in Country Club Hills, N.C., the area where he previously kept a residence. As of now, Warren Ballentine resides in Durham, N.C.

Mr. Ballentine is currently scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 5, 2013. His hearing will take place at the Dirksen US Courthouse and he is currently charged with mail and wire fraud, false statements, and 6 separate counts of bank fraud.

While Warren Ballentine, “The People’s Attorney” maintains his innocence, the US Attorney’s office plans to prove otherwise. In today’s economy, more and more cases of mortgage fraud are surfacing, and these situations are definitely not a positive step in the right direction for the housing market or the economy. Mortgage fraud can costs victims millions of dollars, and even if the schemers are caught and charged, it is never certain that the victims of these scams will ever see a dime of their money.

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Reports Of Mortgage Relief Scams Hit An All-Time High

by Scott on April 12, 2013

Many people struggled to pay back their mortgages after the financial crisis hit. A number of scam artists have been preying on desperate people trying to save their homes from foreclosure. Mortgage relief scams are one of the most common tactics employed by scammers in recent years.

What is a Mortgage Relief Scam?

Many homeowners can’t afford their monthly mortgage payments. They also may not be able to sell their home for enough money to pay down their mortgage. They only way that they can save themselves from foreclosure is by seeking a loan modification.

Scam artists often claim that they can help people who need to restructure their mortgages. You will need to be careful when you are looking into a loan modification. These scams are becoming increasingly popular in recent years.

State of These Scams

The United States government recently revealed that mortgage relief scams have hit an all-time high.  The federal government has collaborated with a number of private organizations to identify and arrest many of these scam artists. However, there are still many scam artists who continue to exploit innocent people.

The criminals who operate these scams use a number of different mediums to reach their audience. However, they usually try to reach their audience over the Internet. A group of investigators from the TARP program reported that they stopped nearly 130 scam artists who were trying to reach people through Bing and Yahoo. They also caught nearly 100 others who were advertising their services on Google.

The Deputy Special Director General of the TARP program, Ms. Romero, said that the Internet is the perfect venue for scammers to reach their marks. Romero said that many people use the Internet every time they need help with anything. Scam artists know this and try to reach a broad base of targets. They also can try to hide behind a cloak of anonymity which makes it more difficult for law enforcement and prosecutors to reach them.

What Are Common Features With these Scams?

Mortgage relief scams can be conducted in a variety of ways. Most of these scam artists will ask to be paid for their services up front. They may also ask you to stop making payments to your bank and submit your payments to them instead. They claim that they will handle the payments for you, but will pocket your money.

You should always make your payments directly to your lender. You also shouldn’t pay a mortgage relief counselor for any services until after they have fixed your loan.

These scammers may also pretend to be working with a legitimate government organization or nonprofit organization. Several scam artists were caught using a business name that sounded very similar to HOPE Now, a group of companies and nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping people seek relief from mortgage debt. This should be a major red flag for you if they ask for a fee. Officials from the Troubled Asset Relief Program and other government institutions will not charge anything to help people who are trying to restructure their mortgages.

Watch Out for Mortgage Relief Scams

Mortgage relief scams have become increasingly prevalent in recent years. You should be careful when using any of these agencies to help get yourself out of debt. There are plenty of reputable companies who can help you. There is no need to spend your money with someone who will rip you off.

Kalen is a business, education and lifestyle writer. He share tips on how consumers can protect themselves from scams as well as receiving an online criminal justice degree.

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