17 Indicted In Alleged Akron Fraud Racket; 147 Count Indictment Announced

In Summit County, Ohio, local media outlets report the announcement of a 147-count indictment which outlines the alleged schemes involving a group of Evergreen companies in Akron, and Carnation Banc, a local mortgage-banking company. The alleged schemes reportedly claimed 500+ victims. The indictments were the result of a mortgage fraud investigation conducted by an Ohio joint state/local task force. According to the reports:

• On Thursday, investigators announced the indictment of 17 suspects, including Evergreen's President, David Willan, and six other company employees. "David Willan sold more than 300 homes in a two-year period," said Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh. "Currently, 42.7 percent of those homes have been foreclosed." Those foreclosed properties are valued at more than $6 million, Walsh said. Also indicted were four employees of Carnation Banc.

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• It was an extensive two-year investigation into Akron-area mortgage fraud — about 800,000 pages of documents and thousands of manpower hours costing taxpayers millions. [... The indictment] alleg[ed] a web of predatory borrowing and securities scams that allegedly bilked investors, homeowners and lenders out of at least $16 million.

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• A captain from the [Summit County] Sheriff's Office was assigned to lead the investigation. The state provided financial assistance. The Ohio Attorney General's Office provided an investigator and a forensic accountant. The task force also included Sheriff's Office detectives, Summit County prosecutors, Cuyahoga Falls detectives and an Akron police detective.

It appears that Carnation Banc's president Craig Conner won the race to the prosecutor's office, reportedly waiving the reading of his indictment, pleading guilty to 22 felonies, and agreeing to start singing against his now former alleged confederates (no doubt an attempt at getting an easier sentence), according to prosecutor Walsh.

For more, see:

• Charges called the first wave in fraud probe (17 people, two Akron companies face 147 counts. More action expected across Ohio in investigation of mortgage, securities scams that raked in millions) (Akron Beacon Journal),
• Summit County announces 17 indictments in mortgage lending scheme (Cleveland Plain Dealer),
• Mortgage-fraud indictments announced in Summit (Akron Beacon Journal),
• Home mortgage scheme nets 17 indictments (WKYC-TV Channel 3) (read story) (watch video).

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