Jury Convicts Kankakee County Man for Bank Fraud Related to Construction Loans

PEORIA, Ill. – A federal jury deliberated for three hours today before returning guilty verdicts on all counts charged in the trial of Daniel Ballard, 57, of Bourbonnais, Ill., for bank fraud. Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid presided over the trial in Peoria and scheduled sentencing for March 27, 2017. Ballard was allowed to remain on bond pending sentencing.

Evidence presented by the government during the trial, which began on Tuesday, Nov. 29, showed that Ballard obtained a construction loan in December 2009, in the amount of $280,000, to build a residence at 3013 Stone Fence Drive in Bourbonnais. As part of the fraud scheme, and to obtain money from the bank to build the residence, Ballard obtained additional construction loans to build or remodel buildings on other properties he owned in Bradley, Ill.: 411 N. Center; 248 N. Center; and 471 N. Grand. An explicit term of the construction loan disbursing agreement required that work for which Ballard was requesting payment be completed before the bank would disburse funds to the title company.

From December 2009 to May 2012, as part of the scheme to defraud, evidence showed that Ballard falsely stated or caused others to falsely state in documents submitted to the title company that costs had been incurred for labor and / or materials for construction at the Bradley, Ill., properties. In fact, the costs of labor and materials were substantially below the amount represented or were not furnished to the Bradley properties at all.

At sentencing, the maximum statutory penalty for each of the three counts of bank fraud, up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $250,000, is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as sentencing is determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene M. Miller is prosecuting the case. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Office of Inspector General conducted the case investigation.

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