Burt Warren was ordered to serve in prison for more than three years for his role in a scheme to sell hundreds of dilapidated homes to rookie investors.
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A real estate investor who worked with a former Fox & Friends host to sell hundreds of dilapidated homes to other investors in a fraudulent scheme, 41 months into Tuesday, almost three years after pleading guilty was sentenced to attend prison.
Bert Whalen, 50, and then business partner Clayton Morris, sold hundreds of homes in the Indianapolis area between 2017 and 2019. The lawsuit and the FBI investigation quickly followed.
Whalen was accused of adjusting the Ponzi scheme and was charged in New Jersey in November 2019. He admitted the conspiracy of fraud against the conspiracy of wire fraud two years later as part of a plea deal with the prosecutor.
According to an Indy Star report, investors were seduced to give money to Whalen and Morris, and expected it to be used to buy and rehabilitate the home that was rented to tenants. Investors were trying to increase their net worth through arrangements.
Some people said they were given a claimed lease or even monthly payment from the lessee, but later found out that the house was completely devastated, vacant and late taxes were overdue. I did.
According to a complaint filed last May by Indiana Attorney General Todd Lokita, Whalen continued to sacrifice people the same way while awaiting a verdict under alias Herb Francis.
Several investors who were scamended by Whalen and Morris’ plans pointed out that Whalen remained freely for years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to fraud.
Whalen’s sentence was strangely late in eight times, and was released from prison before he was finally sentenced this week. He was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine after being released from prison and served three more years on his supervised release.
The court docket shows investors across the country are targeting lawsuits Whalen and Morris, and after watching Morris’ popular YouTube videos and a podcast about real estate investment, he said he was drawn to the investment. He says he was.
“The defendant did not assess whether the investor was sophisticated or certified, or whether he otherwise had any particular financial insight or experience in real estate investment,” said one investor, Morris and Hollen. written in a lawsuit targeting both. “Instead, they appear to be targeting inexperienced investors, many of whom ultimately lost a large percentage of their savings or retirement funds in the scheme.”
Morris, who has not been accused of a crime, moved to Portugal with his family in 2019 after a lawsuit was piled up before returning to the US, Indystar reported.
He still runs the real estate investment company Morris Invest, and will pitch the rental property to investors who work with him. Morris has not been charged with a crime and appears to have settled an earlier lawsuit filed against him. But that may not be the end.
One investor said he spoke to Indystar in 2023 to be contacted by the FBI to talk about Morris. Investor Brian Freeman said he bought the house through Morris and received a rent check for five months. He was later informed by an Indianapolis inspector that the house was open and that there had been a rat invasion.
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