Crooked Local Lawyer gets Big Time in the Big House

McDonough attorney sentenced; Fayette residents among victims (from the Fayette Daily News)

By Martha Barksdale

Attorney Steven H. Ballard of McDonough was sentenced this week to serve more than five years in prison after he pled guilty to a wire fraud scheme that bilked more than $2 million from investors.

Ballard, a real estate and business law attorney, operated a fraudulent real estate investment scam from September 2002 to May 2006, according to Acting United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates.

He collected money from investors in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. People from Fayetteville, Peachtree City and Newnan are among his Georgia victims.

According to evidence presented in court, Ballard promised lucrative real estate investments which never took place, creating false documents to make the transactions appear legitimate.

Ballard used money from new investors to repay other investors/victims, but only made reimbursements if the victims detected the scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

The case was investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Clayton County District Attorney’s office, assisted by the Henry County Police Department and the Peachtree City Police Department.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash Jr. sentenced Ballard to serve five years, three months in prison to be followed by three years supervised release and pay approximately $1.13 million in restitution to his victims.