Here's what WBOC reports on Frank Ward, Candidate for mayor of Pocomoke City.
SALISBURY, Md.- A mayoral candidate in Pocomoke City is under investigation for allegedly scamming people out of their homes, according to Maryland legal documents. The Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation says businessman Frank Ward, two of his companies, and a business partner, were behind a mortgage fraud scheme.
The state says Ward provided unlicensed mortgage services for 23 loans.
Jermaine and Tylisha Jones are among those listed in legal documents who claim they were defrauded by Ward.
The two says their home off Green Spring Drive in Princess Anne was wrongly foreclosed upon. They say Ward targets people desperate to own a home.
He preys on the fact that you really want to this, that you really want a house for your family," Jermaine Jones says.
The Jones said they were only a month behind on their mortgage, when Ward told them to leave their home last year.
But Ward claims the Jones were a year-and-a-half behind on payments.
Ward denies any wrongdoing.
"Everyone that has complained has been delinquent...I tried to do nothing wrong," Ward said.
Ward's business partner at one of his companies, Salisbury-based The Money Centre, Annette Coston, is also being investigated. Coston declined comment to WBOC.
But according to state legal documents, both made "deliberate misstatements, misrepresentations, and/or omissions during the mortgage lending process with the intent to defraud the borrower."
The second business Ward owns, involved in this investigation, is a Pocomoke City construction company.
The state has ordered Ward, his two companies, and Coston to stop providing mortgage financing and brokering services.
An administrative hearing on the investigation is scheduled for Tuesday. Ward and his attorney said the hearing was canceled, because they've settled the investigation. But, the state has not confirmed that.
The Pocomoke mayoral election is April 5th.
Source; WBOC.com
Where the heck was WBOC when this story broke and was reported by WMDT almost a week ago? What took them so long to catch up? I always thought WBOC was the premier news organization on the shore. Now WMDT is living up to their motto of "more news in less time". Maybe WBOC's motto should be "news what news". That goes for the Daily Times as well. Several of the local blogs are doing a much better job of reporting than traditional media.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, guess I'll have to switch to WMDT 47 for breaking news stories.