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Published Friday, November 06, 2009 in Local

Convicted scam artist to pay $1.13 million

The man who pleaded guilty in federal court on July 9 to operating a Ponzi-style scheme that defrauded millions from investors in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee -- including some unnamed victims from Coweta County -- was sentenced Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. sentenced Steven H. Ballard, 53, of McDonough, to five years and three months in federal prison on a wire fraud charge involving a real estate investment scam that lasted from September 2002 through May 2006 and defrauded a dozen victims.

Ballard was also ordered to pay approximately $1.13 million in restitution to the scheme victims.

"I am gratified that the U.S. Attorney's Office was able to present the losses of so many victims to the court, and thereby obtain justice for those who relied on this former attorney and his 'legal' papers," said Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson.

Ballard, a former McDonough-based real estate and business law attorney, collected over $2 million from investors. In Georgia alone, he solicited funds from victims in Duluth, Dunwoody, Fayetteville, Jackson, Jonesboro, Newnan, Palmetto, Peachtree City, and Whitesburg.

Ballard falsely promised "lucrative" real estate and other investments that never took place, often preparing 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 and clients whose cases he had mishandled. Ballard made reimbursements to victims only if they detected the scheme. All repayments were funded with money from new investors.

Ballard's law license was suspended by the State Bar of Georgia in September 2005, and he was disbarred in May 2006.

This case was investigated by Special Agents of the FBI and the Clayton County District Attorney's Office, assisted by the Henry County Police Department and the Peachtree City Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Gale McKenzie prosecuted the case.