Steven H. Ballard, 53, of McDonough, has pleaded guilty in federal district court to committing a real estate investment scam that lasted over five and a half years and defrauded over a dozen victims in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. According to the information presented in court: Ballard, a former real estate and business law attorney based in McDonough, operated a fraudulent real estate investment scam, commonly known as a “Ponzi” scheme.
From September 2002 through May 2006, he collected over $2 million dollars. In Georgia alone, he solicited funds from investors in Duluth, Dunwoody, Fayetteville, Jackson, Jonesboro, Newnan, Palmetto, Peachtree City, and Whitesburg. Ballard also solicited funds from victims in Florida and Tennessee.
Authorities say Ballard told the victims that he was making “lucrative” real estate and other investments which were not actually transacted. He often used bogus HUD-1 Settlement Statements, Warranty Deeds and Sales Contracts to reflect non-existent property purchases, while using a portion of the scheme proceeds to repay former victim investors. The repayments included their principal plus substantial “returns” often exceeding 50% of the initial investment, but those repayments were all funded with money from new victim investors. Ballard’s law license was suspended by the State Bar of Georgia in September 2005, and he was disbarred in May 2006.
Ballard was charged in a Criminal Information in June 2009 with one count of wire fraud, which encompasses the entirety of his five and a half year scheme.
He could receive a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, plus full restitution to all victims who have not been repaid to date. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 29.
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