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Thursday, December 15, 2011

Ind. Courts - "More on: Broker, 2 attorneys are indicted on multiple fraud counts"

Updating this ILB entry from earlier today, Derrick Thomas of WRTV6 had a story this evening (video not yet available, it appears) on today's court appearance:

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- An Indianapolis real estate broker and two associates accused of defrauding the state and a bank appeared in federal court Thursday.

John M. Bales II, 44, the president of Venture Real Estate Services in Indianapolis, his partner and general counsel William E. Spencer, 44, of Carmel, and Indianapolis developer and attorney Paul J. Page, 47, were each indicted Wednesday with one count of conspiracy to defraud, one count of bank fraud, three counts of mail fraud and eight counts of wire fraud.

Page was also charged with one count of making false statements to influence the actions of a bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. * * *

Bales' attorney adamantly denied the charges.

"There was no hanky-panky. There were no secret straw buyers. This was all above board," said attorney Larry Mackey. "What John Bales is going to do is demonstrate to the trial jury that no crime was committed."

The indictment points to a lease deal in Elkhart for the Department of Child Services where office space was acquired in a building jointly owned by Page and former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi.

Brizzi has not been charged in connection with the case, but Page's attorney said he believes federal investigators are really interested in zeroing in on Brizzi.

"It appears that he (Page) just got caught in the middle of some battle going on that is not his," said attorney Bob Hammerle. "It is just ghastly that he has to be informed that he's been indicted, a week before Christmas, just ghastly."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 15, 2011 07:07 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts