Monday, November 24, 2008
Phoenix Man Found Guilty of Felony Fraud and Theft
Delanie Belfield Ross, 39, Phoenix, Arizona, has been found guilty by a Maricopa County Superior Court jury on three counts of felony fraudulent schemes and practices and one count of theft.
According to court documents, Ross, along with his wife, Veronica Cooper Ross, and his brother-in-law, Willard Cooper, fraudulently obtained mortgage loans for the purchase of a $3.2 million Paradise Valley home in 1994. To obtain these loans, they created shell corporations (UPSW Consulting, Templebloc, Inc. and Horizon, Inc.). They also used fraudulent corporate tax returns and other forged documents to create the impression that Cooper, 21, was a successful, wealthy businessman with substantial assets.
After taking possession of the house, Delanie Ross recorded fraudulent releases of the liens on the loans with the Maricopa County Recorder. He then represented the house as being owned free and clear to potential investors and obtained an $850,000 line of credit from a private family of investors, using the house as collateral. These fraudulent corporate documents and tax returns were also used to obtain leases on four SUVs from a Scottsdale automotive dealership.
The jury’s verdict against Delanie Ross was returned Thursday. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 19. He has two prior federal fraud convictions in Texas and one in Arizona. Because of his prior convictions and probation status at the time of the offense, Ross faces a minimum term of 15.75 years in prison and a maximum of 28 years on each count.
Veronica Cooper Ross, who was also on probation, pleaded guilty in 2008 to hindering prosecution and attempted hindering prosecution, both felonies. After serving nearly four years in Maricopa County Jail and the Arizona Department of Corrections, she is serving a three-year probation term in Mississippi. Cooper pleaded guilty to one count of felony theft in 2005 and is also on probation in Mississippi.
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Trial coverage provided by Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty.
F. Jeffrey Miller Update - October 20, 2009
A hearing was held in Topeka, Kansas in front of Judge Julie Robinson. Miller is currently being held pending his sentencing which is set for December 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.. Steve Vanatta and Hallie Irvin, Miller's codefendants, will be sentenced at that time also.
Several motions were heard this week. One was a motion for Miller to be released pending his sentencing. Miller's attorney, Jeff Morris, argued that the court had dismmissed with predjudice the matter involving Miller's purchase of a commercial lawnmower, violating the court ordered monitoring agreement. He also argued that Miller was not a flight risk and should be released. This motion was denied.
Another motion heard by Judge Robinson was that of an escrow account containing proceeds from the sale of Miller's forfeited assets. This account has a balance of $143,000. Attorney Morris argued that his firm was due $100,000 for work done in the Miller matter, to date. The government argued that his 'un-itemized fees' were 'exhorbitant'. The balance of the funds, Morris argued, should be released to the Miller family to help pay for mounting household expenses.
The government argued that the 'Asset Forfeiture Provision' applies down to 'the last penny' and that 'the rights of the victims to made whole are of paramount immportance' and that no routine household expenses like Visa bills, are allowed.
Attorney Morris argues that there is more than enough assets to satisfy the jury's judgement of $2.65 million dollars. The government argues that the estimated value of his assets are only $1.4 million.
The government also stated that Miller has been paid dividends from a company Miller has an ownership interest in; Boreflex. From July, 2008 to present, Miller has been paid $330,509.30 from Boreflex, unbeknownst to the court appointed monitor.
Present in the courtroom was Todd Earnshaw. Earnshaw was indicted along with Miller and others in what is commonly referred to as 'Miller I'. That trial is scheduled to begin on January 11, 2010 in Topeka, Kansas.
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Rachel Dollar, the editor of Mortgage Fraud Blog, is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles litigation for lending institutions and secondary market investors. She is an author and a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of mortgage fraud. Ms. Dollar is a shareholder with the law firm of 
