((HT: AJC/Towers))
Is Jim Donnan in charge of one of the biggest Ponzi schemes around or is he just a guy used by others to bring in the cash for the scheme to work...???
That's the question being debated in an Athens, Georgia courtroom...
Back in the mid-2000's, Donnan was introduced to a guy by the name of Greg Crabtree. Crabtree and Donnan got together, in some capacity-depending on which side you believe- and brought in some heavyweight investors for projects under the GLC Limited umbrella- mostly flipping surplus merchandise and food.
GLC brought in more than $80 million from folks as famous as Frank Beamer and Billy Gillispie, and investors claim the losses were over $20-million. A lot of investors lost their investment principal up to seven figures in losses.
Here's work from the Southern Free Press with Joyce Oscar in 2011 discussing the case with some alleged victims
Crabtree maintains Donnan knew what was going on with the scheme- something Donnan, obviously, denies.
Chip Towers presence at the trial is a required read...
Showing posts with label fraud. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fraud. Show all posts
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Friday, March 7, 2014
OSG High: Grady High Investigation Stage 1 Opens
((HT: 11Alive.com))
This investigation started back in November when the Atlanta Public School system received an anonymous tip about address fraud involving football players at Grady-Atlanta High School.
Sources close to both OSG Sports and Grady High have long known that this is one of those elephants in the room- and the investigation discloses that of 58 students investigated almost half have had false documents verified or are still under investigation to determine the legitimacy of the documents provided.
Here's the multi-reporter look at the multi-page document
The fraud is somewhat ingenious in the lengths that school officials, parents, and athletes will go to allege being a part of the Grey Knight family... The head of the Atlanta Public School System, Superintendent Erroll Davis, broke it down and parents are less than pleased at what some are calling a witch hunt. Since, the investigation began, a number of players have withdrawn from the school voluntarily, and others have been asked to leave. If it was discovered that a student lived outside the geographic area of Grady, tuition bills were sent to parents. Davis said at least one player had never seen the inside of a Grady High School classroom. Here's the highlights of the town hall meeting Davis had with the Grady community...
This investigation started back in November when the Atlanta Public School system received an anonymous tip about address fraud involving football players at Grady-Atlanta High School.
Sources close to both OSG Sports and Grady High have long known that this is one of those elephants in the room- and the investigation discloses that of 58 students investigated almost half have had false documents verified or are still under investigation to determine the legitimacy of the documents provided.
Here's the multi-reporter look at the multi-page document
The fraud is somewhat ingenious in the lengths that school officials, parents, and athletes will go to allege being a part of the Grey Knight family... The head of the Atlanta Public School System, Superintendent Erroll Davis, broke it down and parents are less than pleased at what some are calling a witch hunt. Since, the investigation began, a number of players have withdrawn from the school voluntarily, and others have been asked to leave. If it was discovered that a student lived outside the geographic area of Grady, tuition bills were sent to parents. Davis said at least one player had never seen the inside of a Grady High School classroom. Here's the highlights of the town hall meeting Davis had with the Grady community...
Saturday, December 21, 2013
OSG High: Address Fraud Confirmed In Atlanta Football Program
((HT: 11Alive.com, WXIA-TV))
As OSG Sports first reported a week ago, the Atlanta Public Schools investigation into Grady High School and its football program has unveiled duplicate addresses for athletes who claimed to have lived in the district when they, in fact, did not...
Up to 20 players addresses were in question when an anonymous tip was called into APS in early November.
Here's part of the release from APS Superintendent Erroll B. Davis, Jr.
After interviewing the majority of the parents and guardians of the Grady High School Football team, APS has conclusive evidence of address fraud. Specifically, we have confirmed that parents falsified enrollment affidavits for students who live outside of the Grady attendance zone, and in some instances, outside of the city of Atlanta. The interviews also revealed additional issues that warrant further investigation.
Players who were fraudulently enrolled will be required to leave the school. Parents who falsified enrollment affidavits are subject to reimbursing the district tuition of up to $10,000 per school year, as well as other legal consequences that may be pursued.
While parents are ultimately responsible for false affidavits, there are issues of institutional control that must be addressed before we conclude this investigation. Integrity is paramount, and we want to send a message that false affidavits have academic, personnel, financial and legal consequences that are simply not worth it.
This remains an ongoing investigation that will continue after the winter break.
Here's the latest from the TV side...
The Georgia High School Association will now get to decide if the athletes will be eligible in their home districts...
Head football coach Ronnie Millen, Junior is still reassigned...
OSG sources close to the Grady situation still maintain it wasn't the first time of an event like this...and won't be the last...
As OSG Sports first reported a week ago, the Atlanta Public Schools investigation into Grady High School and its football program has unveiled duplicate addresses for athletes who claimed to have lived in the district when they, in fact, did not...
Up to 20 players addresses were in question when an anonymous tip was called into APS in early November.
Here's part of the release from APS Superintendent Erroll B. Davis, Jr.
After interviewing the majority of the parents and guardians of the Grady High School Football team, APS has conclusive evidence of address fraud. Specifically, we have confirmed that parents falsified enrollment affidavits for students who live outside of the Grady attendance zone, and in some instances, outside of the city of Atlanta. The interviews also revealed additional issues that warrant further investigation.
Players who were fraudulently enrolled will be required to leave the school. Parents who falsified enrollment affidavits are subject to reimbursing the district tuition of up to $10,000 per school year, as well as other legal consequences that may be pursued.
While parents are ultimately responsible for false affidavits, there are issues of institutional control that must be addressed before we conclude this investigation. Integrity is paramount, and we want to send a message that false affidavits have academic, personnel, financial and legal consequences that are simply not worth it.
This remains an ongoing investigation that will continue after the winter break.
Here's the latest from the TV side...
The Georgia High School Association will now get to decide if the athletes will be eligible in their home districts...
Head football coach Ronnie Millen, Junior is still reassigned...
OSG sources close to the Grady situation still maintain it wasn't the first time of an event like this...and won't be the last...
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Wilf Family Ordered To Pay $84.5M In Fraud Case
((HT: KARE-TV))
New Jersey Superior Court Judge Deanne Wilson has ordered Zygi Wilf, Mark Wilf, and their cousin to pay $84.5 million to two former business partners they defrauded in a 1980s real estate deal. It was ruled they committed fraud and breach of contract and violated the state's civil racketeering laws in their dealings with Ada Reichmann and her brother Josef Halpern.
The Wilf family was sued by Halpern and Reichmann over a proposed 764-unit apartment complex. Halpern and Reichmann were paid as on-site managers, but were cut out of the revenues worked out of the project.
The Wilfs' attorneys said they plan to appeal. The family won't have to pay any of the award until all appeals have been exhausted. The trial took almost seven months to complete and any appeal could take up to three years to be heard. It was also 21 years in the making...
Here's the early judgment...
Naturally, there is a point of concern... the running of the Vikings and the construction of the new downtown stadium. BUT... Minneapolis Stadium Facilities Authority chair Michele Kelm Helgen and Vikings Vice President Lester Bagley say that the ruling will have no effect on it. "The Vikings and the Wilf family have the financial ability to meet the private commitments of the stadium project regardless of the outcome of this legal matter," Bagley said. The MSFA recently wrapped up a due diligence inquiry to verify that the Wilfs could cover their share of the Vikings stadium costs. We'll see where that goes... Here's the KSTP-TV version... And here's the judge's order in full...
New Jersey Superior Court Judge Deanne Wilson has ordered Zygi Wilf, Mark Wilf, and their cousin to pay $84.5 million to two former business partners they defrauded in a 1980s real estate deal. It was ruled they committed fraud and breach of contract and violated the state's civil racketeering laws in their dealings with Ada Reichmann and her brother Josef Halpern.
The Wilf family was sued by Halpern and Reichmann over a proposed 764-unit apartment complex. Halpern and Reichmann were paid as on-site managers, but were cut out of the revenues worked out of the project.
The Wilfs' attorneys said they plan to appeal. The family won't have to pay any of the award until all appeals have been exhausted. The trial took almost seven months to complete and any appeal could take up to three years to be heard. It was also 21 years in the making...
Here's the early judgment...
Naturally, there is a point of concern... the running of the Vikings and the construction of the new downtown stadium. BUT... Minneapolis Stadium Facilities Authority chair Michele Kelm Helgen and Vikings Vice President Lester Bagley say that the ruling will have no effect on it. "The Vikings and the Wilf family have the financial ability to meet the private commitments of the stadium project regardless of the outcome of this legal matter," Bagley said. The MSFA recently wrapped up a due diligence inquiry to verify that the Wilfs could cover their share of the Vikings stadium costs. We'll see where that goes... Here's the KSTP-TV version... And here's the judge's order in full...
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Judge Approves Pilot Flying J Settlements, More Lawsuits Still Planned
((HT: WBIR-TV))
Pilot Flying J Truck Stops, owned by Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, wants to settle outside court with 8 trucking companies that are filing suit against the company. The company made the motion to settle in an Arkansas federal court. Pilot Flying J wants to resolve the civil suits ahead of the criminal case that awaits them.
Here's what Haslam is offering:
Completely reimbursing the trucking companies
Audit all accounts of trucking companies who received any rebates from the year 2008 on
Promise to pay all customers 100 percent of any money owed- with 6 percent interest
Pay all legal and associated fees and
Allow an independent accountant to go over the company's internal audit
Customers can also opt out if they want
Haslam released a statement today saying in part: "I commend all of these individuals for their hard work and dedication to ensuring our customers are paid back quickly and fairly for any potential discrepancies found in their accounts."
The same federal judge overseeing the case will give the yay or nay in November.
Here's the latest from Knoxville...
Here's the settlement motion, thanks to our friends at WVLT-TV
The eight firms looking to settle are:
National Trucking Financial Reclamation Services, LLC.
Bruce Taylor
Edis Trucking
Jerry Floyd
Mike Campbell
Paul Otto
Townes Trucking, Inc.
R&R Transportation, Inc.
Pilot Flying J is not admitting any wrongdoing or include any punitive damages, and Pilot Flying J says they won't do any more shenanigans with their rebate policy. And it's because the company is not admitting any wrongdoing that some lawyers attached to the class action suit are looking to opt out and file separately...
The HQ is thinking that this is just getting warmed up...
Pilot Flying J Truck Stops, owned by Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, wants to settle outside court with 8 trucking companies that are filing suit against the company. The company made the motion to settle in an Arkansas federal court. Pilot Flying J wants to resolve the civil suits ahead of the criminal case that awaits them.
Here's what Haslam is offering:
Completely reimbursing the trucking companies
Audit all accounts of trucking companies who received any rebates from the year 2008 on
Promise to pay all customers 100 percent of any money owed- with 6 percent interest
Pay all legal and associated fees and
Allow an independent accountant to go over the company's internal audit
Customers can also opt out if they want
Haslam released a statement today saying in part: "I commend all of these individuals for their hard work and dedication to ensuring our customers are paid back quickly and fairly for any potential discrepancies found in their accounts."
The same federal judge overseeing the case will give the yay or nay in November.
Here's the latest from Knoxville...
Here's the settlement motion, thanks to our friends at WVLT-TV
The eight firms looking to settle are:
National Trucking Financial Reclamation Services, LLC.
Bruce Taylor
Edis Trucking
Jerry Floyd
Mike Campbell
Paul Otto
Townes Trucking, Inc.
R&R Transportation, Inc.
Pilot Flying J is not admitting any wrongdoing or include any punitive damages, and Pilot Flying J says they won't do any more shenanigans with their rebate policy. And it's because the company is not admitting any wrongdoing that some lawyers attached to the class action suit are looking to opt out and file separately...
The HQ is thinking that this is just getting warmed up...
Friday, May 31, 2013
Shabazz Muhammad's Dad Indicted On Fraud
((HT: LA Times/Bensinger))
And, now, the HQ knows where part of former UCLA one-and-done Shabazz Muhammad's rookie contract will go- defending his father against mail and wire fraud charges brought against him in Las Vegas.
Ken Bensinger's piece refers us to a Las Vegas Review-Journal piece where Muhammad's father, former UCLA star Ronald Holmes, and others used fraudulent information and so-called "straw buyers" to get home mortgages and buy and sell houses, keeping any kind of funds that were either distributed before or profit from the transaction- if a house was ever bought or sold.
The activities took place in a three-year period- 2006 to 2009. The complaintants are looking to recover more than $2.5 million.
And, apparently, this is not the first time Holmes has been accused in activity like this...
From Bensinger:
In 2000, he was sentenced to six months house arrest for fraud involving multiple mortgages in Los Angeles County that were obtained in the early 1990s using false information.
The details of that case bear remarkable similarities to the current charges. According to U.S. Atty. Daniel G. Bogden's complaint, Holmes lived in two houses obtained with fraudulent mortgage applications, and seldom made mortgage payments.
He also allegedly conspired to have straw buyers file bankruptcy petitions to delay foreclosure of homes he was occupying.
The lenders that underwrote the mortgages include Citibank, JP Morgan Chase and Centralbanc Mortgage Corp., the indictment says.
The LVRJ piece by Colton Lochhead says the plea agreement with Holmes was to pay restitution of $78,000...
Here's one of those alleged all-access pieces on Shabazz from a year ago...
((HT: courtcred.com))
It will be interesting to see which NBA team takes a flier on Muhammad- considering his apparent moodiness, self-centered behavior on the floor, and the falsifying of information involving his actual age when he enrolled in UCLA and participated in AAU ball.
Hmmmmmmm...
And, now, the HQ knows where part of former UCLA one-and-done Shabazz Muhammad's rookie contract will go- defending his father against mail and wire fraud charges brought against him in Las Vegas.
Ken Bensinger's piece refers us to a Las Vegas Review-Journal piece where Muhammad's father, former UCLA star Ronald Holmes, and others used fraudulent information and so-called "straw buyers" to get home mortgages and buy and sell houses, keeping any kind of funds that were either distributed before or profit from the transaction- if a house was ever bought or sold.
The activities took place in a three-year period- 2006 to 2009. The complaintants are looking to recover more than $2.5 million.
And, apparently, this is not the first time Holmes has been accused in activity like this...
From Bensinger:
In 2000, he was sentenced to six months house arrest for fraud involving multiple mortgages in Los Angeles County that were obtained in the early 1990s using false information.
The details of that case bear remarkable similarities to the current charges. According to U.S. Atty. Daniel G. Bogden's complaint, Holmes lived in two houses obtained with fraudulent mortgage applications, and seldom made mortgage payments.
He also allegedly conspired to have straw buyers file bankruptcy petitions to delay foreclosure of homes he was occupying.
The lenders that underwrote the mortgages include Citibank, JP Morgan Chase and Centralbanc Mortgage Corp., the indictment says.
The LVRJ piece by Colton Lochhead says the plea agreement with Holmes was to pay restitution of $78,000...
Here's one of those alleged all-access pieces on Shabazz from a year ago...
((HT: courtcred.com))
It will be interesting to see which NBA team takes a flier on Muhammad- considering his apparent moodiness, self-centered behavior on the floor, and the falsifying of information involving his actual age when he enrolled in UCLA and participated in AAU ball.
Hmmmmmmm...
Thursday, April 18, 2013
DEVELOPING: Jimmy Haslam Might Be In Big Trouble
((HT: WBIR-TV/Cleveland Plain Dealer, Caniglia))
Business may have picked up for Pilot/Flying J truck stop and Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam- and not in a good way.
Documents filed in federal court maintain that Haslam knew about fraud committed by sales reps who targeted trucking companies through their rebate program. The documents also say that Haslam was present for discussions. Confidential informants were used to gather information against the company starting in 2011.
The 120-page affidavit led to Monday's search warrant on Pilot/Flying J's headquarters. The reps reportedly withheld the rebates to improve the company's bottom line and give the sales department higher commissions.
From Caniglia:
The affidavit makes clear what Haslam knew: "(A confidential informant) further advised that the rebate fraud has occurred with the knowledge of Pilot's current President Mark Hazelwood and Pilot's Chief Executive Officer James A. "Jimmy" Haslam III due to the fact that the rebate fraud-related activities have been discussed during sales meetings in Knoxville, Tenn., in which Hazelwood and Haslam have been present."
Here was the party line from Pilot/Flying J
Business may have picked up for Pilot/Flying J truck stop and Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam- and not in a good way.
Documents filed in federal court maintain that Haslam knew about fraud committed by sales reps who targeted trucking companies through their rebate program. The documents also say that Haslam was present for discussions. Confidential informants were used to gather information against the company starting in 2011.
The 120-page affidavit led to Monday's search warrant on Pilot/Flying J's headquarters. The reps reportedly withheld the rebates to improve the company's bottom line and give the sales department higher commissions.
From Caniglia:
The affidavit makes clear what Haslam knew: "(A confidential informant) further advised that the rebate fraud has occurred with the knowledge of Pilot's current President Mark Hazelwood and Pilot's Chief Executive Officer James A. "Jimmy" Haslam III due to the fact that the rebate fraud-related activities have been discussed during sales meetings in Knoxville, Tenn., in which Hazelwood and Haslam have been present."
Here was the party line from Pilot/Flying J
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