National
Radio Host, Self-Styled ‘People’s Lawyer’ Convicted of Mortgage Fraud
Warren Ballentine (Ann Ragland/NNPA)
(Chicago Sun-Times) – He styled himself “The People’s Attorney” and once claimed that 3 million listeners tuned in to hear his brand of black empowerment on his nationally-syndicated radio show.
But former Soul 106.3 personality Warren Ballentine is now a convicted fraudster.
A federal jury took less than an hour Friday morning to find Ballentine, 43, guilty on six counts connected to a $10 million mortgage scam.
Ballentine hung his head, frowned and mouthed the word “Man” as the verdicts were announced by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly.
Evidence during the trial showed that Ballentine used straw buyers to obtain mortgages on properties they never intended to live in. In some cases, he attended closings for the same phony purchasers at two different properties within three days of each other, each time telling the straw buyers to lie on their mortgage forms.
