Governor receives land from bankrupt daughter

Just in from the Associated Press:

The daughter of Gov. Nathan Deal has transferred Habersham County property to her father that had been used as collateral in a failed sporting goods venture.

Habersham County records show Carrie Deal Wilder and her husband Clint Wilder had lived on the nearly 16-acre Habersham County property. The couple declared bankruptcy last year, leaving Nathan Deal and his wife, Sandra, on the hook for some $2.3 million in loans.

County property records show Carrie Deal transferred the property to her father for $10 on Dec. 31.

Jimmy Allen, who oversees personal finances in Deal’s blind trust, said he expects the property will be sold to help satisfy some $1.35 million in debt he incurred from backing Wilder Outdoors.

- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider

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289 comments Add your comment

Atlanta CPA

January 21st, 2011
9:38 am

I’m Your Huckleberry

January 20th, 2011
7:16 pm

Sorry that my writing is over your head, maybe you will understand this.

1/2% annual interest on $2,300,000 = $11,500 per year
5% annual interest on $2,300,000 = $115,000 per year
10% annual interest on $2,300,000 = $230,000 per year
15% annual interest on $2,300,000 = $345,000 per year

given Deal’s financial condition a minimum of 10% and more likely 15% would be required to get a loan. Of course you would have to add another $50-100m per year for principal amortization.

Sorry for the confusion, I hope you can understand how interest is calculated.

DECATUR

January 21st, 2011
9:40 am

IF IT WALKS LIKE A DUCK, QUACK LIKE DUCK, LOOKS LIKE DUCK THEN IT IS DUCK!!!

Everyone who voted for Deal is an idiot!

January 21st, 2011
9:49 am

What a bunch of morons!!!!!!

squish

January 21st, 2011
10:04 am

He can sell the 16 acres of land to the DNR for $3 million

Tom

January 21st, 2011
10:11 am

No wonder our country is in trouble from uninformed, ill-educated citizens…you have all embarrassed yourselves with your ignorant posts b/c you show your lack of knowledge of how bankruptcies with guarantys are handled….LEGALLY. No slime, no shady, shifty dealings all above board and per the law. So we are either filled with the uninformed …..either that or all the haters that are simply the losing party.

Port O'John

January 21st, 2011
10:24 am

If its collateral for a loan that went bad, all the daughter had to do was sign the property over to the creditor. But if the creditor knows about the transfer and is OK with it — then who cares? But that fact is not in the story above as Deal’s defenders claim.

I think this guy will be another do-nothing Governor. But that’s what the majority of this state wants.

Hopefully we won’t see any more shady Oaky Woods type transactions. That deal just looks like political favoritism. For Perdue to claim that the price for Oaky Woods went down, when it actually the per acre price went up and DNR paid the same price for half of the land it that it could have bought the entire tract for three years ago is just disingenuous.

Curious that you don’t see any conservatives complain about the Oakey Woods deal. But after all, if well-connected developers gain at the public’s expense, isn’t that what the new Conservative Georgia all about?

EWA

January 21st, 2011
10:25 am

You people need to get a life. This is irresponsible journalism – the norm in journalism. Nathan Deal is one of the least selfish, most honest men I have ever known. What don’t you people do something constructive with your time?

dan the nerd

January 21st, 2011
10:41 am

There are a few issues at play here and some of them are pretty complex. And we don’t have enough information to evaluate the others.

It is a valid question if the daughter “sold” the land to get the land out of her bankruptcy. Transactions within so many days of the filing can be overturned by the court – espcecially if the property could have been sold on the open market for more money, which could have been used to satisfy more/other creditors. It appears that she decided outside of the courts to satisfy one creditor – and this may be deemed inappropriate by the bankruptcy court.

A bigger issue might arise from the $10 sale price. If she was transferring the colateral to relieve herself of the debt, why the need for a $10 price? This really appears to be a Gift, and the daughter should have to pay a gift tax on the difference between market price and $10.

Another issue, does the daughter still reside on the property? If so, she needs to be paying rent to her father. If she does not, he should be paying tax on the amount of rent that property would generate.

What a mess.

AWJ

January 21st, 2011
10:46 am

What’s the big deal? He co-signed a loan for his daughter to start a business. It failed and now he is on the hook for the balance. In order to help repay the balance, the daughter gave him some of her assets to help cover the cost of what he now has to pay back because she could not. That is what she SHOULD have done. Are we critical of our governor because he backed a loan for his daughter to start a business?? Can he not be a father also??

Bertram

January 21st, 2011
10:50 am

AWJ: People are critical because the daughter didn’t sell the land. the transfer is unnecessary if selling it is the final outcome. I completely understand he owes the balance, but the lenders don’t care where the money comes from. I believe the land will be used to secure a loan to pay the owed balance. It is a good chance that the loan will come from a supporter’s bank, and eventually that loan will be written off.

cca

January 21st, 2011
10:53 am

It is better to be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt.
“someone smarter than me said this”
This saying should be amended to include posting statements on the internet that are not true.
Just check the results of an Union County, GA trial.

gapeach

January 21st, 2011
10:55 am

if so many write comments and feel this way about all this how in the world did he get into office!!!!!! he doesn’t know anything about finances since he is so irresponsible with his own therefore lets have him run our state!!! very scary!!!!!!!!!!! those that voted for him were voting for the party or others couldn’t get past the past and need for a better future and vote for Barnes!!!! Don’t think it is going to get better for Georgia—we are just going to be a laughing stock!!!!!!!

cca

January 21st, 2011
10:56 am

I believe that the verbage on a warranty deed or quit claim deed reads:
“$10.00 and other valuable goods and consideration”
Maybe the AJC writer would like to correct the sales price.

gapeach

January 21st, 2011
10:58 am

response to:

EWA

January 21st, 2011
10:25 am

You people need to get a life. This is irresponsible journalism – the norm in journalism. Nathan Deal is one of the least selfish, most honest men I have ever known. What don’t you people do something constructive with your time?

YOUR READING IT ALL so you could be considered as wasting your time as well!!!!!!

Bertram

January 21st, 2011
11:02 am

I am coming home soon. I hope this is not the norm.

sissyuga

January 21st, 2011
11:22 am

He LOOKS corrupt.

But wait, there's more > Bank officer going to prison over Deal's loan??

January 21st, 2011
11:30 am

I bet you all a case of beer that Randy Jones (see below) got a free bass boat from Wilder sporting goods. The very bank that lent the money to Deal has some slight ‘integrity issues’.

Would you lend $2.3M to someone with no business experience, who had a prior bankruptcy, for a high-end sporting goods store in a rural area? Well I would, if you gave me a nice kickback.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A former Georgia bank executive pleaded guilty Thursday to using customers and family members to orchestrate a multimillion dollar fraud conspiracy, the most recent sign of a ramped-up effort by federal officials against bank fraud in Georgia.

Randy Jones, 50, could face decades in prison after he pleaded guilty to receiving kickbacks for real estate loans while he was an executive vice president at Community Bank & Trust, the failed Cornelia-based bank where he worked for 30 years.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-21/ex-bank-officer-in-ga-pleads-guilty-to-charges.html

David

January 21st, 2011
11:40 am

I love the idiots who are posting here. It was a transfer of the property not a sale. It is the daughter who filed for bankruptcy where the mortgage holder would get shorted on the whole. Deal who did not file bankruptcy is responsible. He technically should hold the property. As Governor he has put all his assets into a blind trust. He does not get to make the decisions. The land will be sold. I would shocked if it was a state deal because it would simply get killed by the press and other interested parties and the Trust knows it. In the end it will be sold to cover what Deal owes and it will be the end of it expect for those of you who demand CIVIL DISCOURSE from Republicans but won’t live up to your own standards.

Talk about sloppy lending standards at Community Bank and Trust

January 21st, 2011
11:52 am

To recap the sad saga of Wilder Sporting Goods:

$2 Million: Deal family invests their own money to start business in 2005
$500K: Loan from Gainesville Bank & Trust, using property as collateral

Here’s where the roller-coaster gets going:

$1M Loan from Community Bank and Trust 2005 (using same collateral!)

November 2006, Store Opens

$250K Loan from Community Bank and Trust June 2007 (using same collateral!)
$2.4M Loan from Community Bank and Trust in 2008 (using same collateral!)

Hmmmmm…..I wonder why Community Bank and Trust failed and the VP in charge of commercial lending is going to prison???

I do not know the particulars of the case, but to lend almost $3M to a business that is really struggling just does not pass the ’smell test’.

kjfd

January 21st, 2011
11:53 am

you tell em BART – start electing crooks with a D after their name!

Ex State Employee

January 21st, 2011
11:59 am

Bart,at least change your name. We all know your last name is Graham.

To David

January 21st, 2011
12:13 pm

Blind Trust? pfffffftttttttt (coffee spew)

The blind trust is being run by a guy who donated around ten thousand to Deal’s campaign, and worked as his campaign accountant.

Even more interesting is that the guy in charge of the trust is a FORENSIC ACCOUNTANT. …someone who is a specialist in detecting fraud. It is more typical that the administrator of a trust is an attorney, not a fraud specialist. The most successful bank robbers are former police officers, and the best way to commit fraud is to hire someone who is an expert investigator in charge of what you do.

Look, Nathan may be the nicest person on earth, probably a great guy to play poker with. But his track record shows one shady deal after another. From his salvage business, which he steered state business to, as a congressman, to the works of fiction he created for his financial disclosure statements, even to his use of campaign funds for his aviation business. I just don’t trust the guy.

I’m sure he will make sure any business dealings are completely in the best interest of the Georgia taxpayers, and not anything to benefit the gov or himself (I’ve also heard that wolves make good housepets).

Governor Deal's Ties to Failed Georgia Bank Examined

January 21st, 2011
12:23 pm

Since the guy who made these bad loans to the Deal family is going to prison for making bad loans, why is the AJC the only news outlet not properly investigating this story?

The chief credit officer of the bank that lent Deal’s failing family business $3M is going to jail.

http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/6/article/44647/

grady baby

January 21st, 2011
12:32 pm

I didn’t vote for him. Didn’t want to vote for Barnes either!!! It appears to me that all you have to be in this state to get elected is White & Rebuplican, and say the word “Christian”. Doesn’t matter what the heck they’ve done, doing, and going to do!

Same ole Same ole ....

January 21st, 2011
12:57 pm

I totally agree w/ Travis. The only criteria the majority of Georgia voters want in their candidate is that the person is a Republican. It obviously doesn’t matter about the persons character or if he/she has a conflict of interest w/ the good ole boys w/ whom they have known business affiliations. One dirty hand paying the other & on & on it goes in Georgia. The way its always been — the way it will continue to be until voters pull their heads out of their ……….

khc

January 21st, 2011
1:18 pm

This about says it all for repub party:

The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted new rules Thursday requiring firms selling the securities to make a thorough review of the loans backing them and then to report the findings of the review to the public. The markets for securities backed by bundles of mortgages, auto and student loans, and credit cards have remained weak since the crisis, largely because investors are unsure about the quality of the loans.

The rules are required by the financial overhaul law enacted last summer. They will apply to offerings of asset-backed securities starting next Jan. 1.

The rules are intended “to restore investor confidence” in the markets for asset-backed securities, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said before the 3-2 vote.

The two Republican SEC commissioners, Kathleen Casey and Troy Paredes, voted against the new rules.

I guess this would prevent their crook buddies from ripping off america

Deal's Banker

January 21st, 2011
1:46 pm

The former chief credit officer for the failed Community Bank & Trust (CB&T) pleaded guilty Thursday to being part of a conspiracy to defraud the bank.

Robert Randal Jones, 50, of Cornelia, Ga., now faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

According to the case, from February 2005 through May 2009, Jones committed bank fraud with some of CB&T’s customers, including Joseph C. Penick Jr., 50, of Cornelia, Douglas C. Emig, 55, of Clarkesville, Ga., and Berrong Moulton, 44, of Cleveland, Ga.

In June 2005, Penick got a loan for about $500,000 from CB&T to finance his purchase of 54 acres of land in Hart County, Ga. Jones approved this loan on behalf of CB&T.

A month later, Jones arranged for Penick to sell the 54 acres to Emig for more than $1.6 million (resulting in a profit to Penick of more than 300 percent). Jones also approved a loan related to this purchase on behalf of CB&T.

Out of his share of the profits from the sale of the 54 acres, Penick paid a kickback to Jones of more than $400,000 and paid a kickback to Emig of $270,000.

In August 2005, Penick got a loan for nearly $672,000 from CB&T to finance his purchase of another 98 acres of land in Hart County. Jones approved this loan on behalf of CB&T.

Eight days later, Jones arranged for Penick to sell the 98 acres to Emig for about $1.6 million, resulting in a profit to Penick of more than 240 percent. Jones also approved a loan to Emig to make this purchase on behalf of CB&T.

Out of his share of the profits from the sale of the 98 acres, Penick paid a kickback to Jones of more than $371,000 and paid a kickback to Emig of $200,000.

Moulton, a real estate developer and home builder, owed millions of dollars to CB&T on various personal and business loans, which he could not afford to repay. To prevent bank regulators from discovering how much money Moulton had borrowed from CB&T, and in order to provide Moulton with the funds he needed to pay the interest on his past-due loans at CB&T, Jones and Moulton caused CB&T to make fraudulent loans to straw borrowers for Moulton’s use and benefit. These loans were made in the names of Moulton’s mother, wife, and daughter, as well as a fictitious entity called “ABK Designs.”

The principal amount of these fraudulent loans was approximately $2.8 million. Moulton’s mother, wife, and daughter had no knowledge of the fraudulent loans and did not benefit from them in any way. Moulton used the proceeds of the fraudulent loans to make payments on his past-due loans at CB&T.

Finally, Jones fraudulently got more than $800,000 from CB&T through a series of fraudulent loans that he set up in the names of various members of his own family, without their knowledge or consent. Jones forged the signatures of the people in whose names he obtained these loans and then used the loan proceeds for his own personal purposes.

Penick and Emig pleaded guilty on Aug. 27, 2010, to a one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Moulton pleaded guilty on Sept. 30, 2010, to a one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Jones, Penick, Emig, and Moulton each could receive a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

Penick, Emig, and Moulton are scheduled to be sentenced on March 17.

Jones has agreed to a money judgment against him in an amount equal to the proceeds he obtained as a result of the conspiracy to defraud CB&T. He has also agreed to forfeit a substantial number of assets, including real and personal property, which will be used to satisfy part of the money judgment against him. Those amounts will be determined by the court. A sentencing date for Jones has not yet been scheduled.

Read more: Ex-CCO for CB&T pleads guilty to fraud | Atlanta Business Chronicle

Yall are buck toofed hillbillies

January 21st, 2011
1:49 pm

Figure it out
January 20th, 2011
3:33 pm

Common sense suggests that the kids transferred it to the father because he had already guaranteed the debt and was on the hook for it. The lender had a first mortgage on the property plus the guaranty from Deal. The lender doesn’t want the land but wants to just get paid. Accordingly, Deal agrees to pay the lender (per the guaranty agreement), and he gets the property since he is bearing the burden of the debt. Nothing tricky or remarkable about this.

Except to a bunch of buck toothed hillbillies.

atlantaphotog

January 21st, 2011
2:01 pm

This is what happens when the “city folks” are too busy carting their kids to sports practice and taking their Pilates classes in Buckhead – they don’t take the time to VOTE! So who does take the time? Peanut and Chicken farmers… that’s who. And look at the results!

Remember this the next time you folks are “too busy” to vote for Governor (or MAYOR for that matter).

Pablo

January 21st, 2011
3:08 pm

You people obviously have no idea how this stuff works. There is nothing “smelly” here. The Deals are on the hook to payoof the debt. What smells is how the article is titled, it seems like an attempt to elicit the exact response most posters have given. Perhaps a better title would be… Governor graciously assumes daughters debt.

Hall Wonder

January 21st, 2011
3:30 pm

I wonder if the new library and sports park going in on Nopone Road where Deal’s property and home is, along with the new Glades Reservoir going in right behind his property on Nopone might entice a nice park or new development right there where his current home and property is? He might need to build a new place up on that $10 land in Habersham in 4 or 5 years if that were to happen by some miracle of synchronicity. What do you all think?

Big Boy

January 21st, 2011
4:07 pm

Roy Barnes looks better and better…………….

Illuminator!

January 21st, 2011
4:40 pm

It is amazing that the ignorant leftist never said a word while the Dems ran the state into the ground during their 130 year rule! I suppose you want King Rat back!

Shame upon Them

January 21st, 2011
5:16 pm

so let’s get this straight—if i can’t pay the people i owe—then everything i own i can file bankruptcy and just transfer it all to my family members and the folks i borrowed from get nothing? —-that’s bull — i hope the courts come down on this hard and heavy. we deserve better than this.

Hushmo Black

January 21st, 2011
9:30 pm

Is this Legal ???

UR RIGHT

January 22nd, 2011
5:53 pm

Wow: What is stupid is electing one of the most corrupt members of Congress to be Gov. of GA.

Diane

January 23rd, 2011
8:32 am

Something smells about this one.Why didn’t he satify his debt before deciding to run for Govenor.If the sporting good store appeared it was going to fail to thrive.Then why keep investing into a no profit deal.The daughter and son-in-law broke the law and then we hear Georgia coming from her lips.If i had that kind of clout and breaks i would be singing the national anthem instead of Georgia.

Frederick Bailey

January 23rd, 2011
9:06 am

Everybody knows that the State of Georgia will end up owning the property – just give them a few months.

smegma

January 24th, 2011
9:15 am

You can’t explain anything to these people.These people are almost as dumb as the ones who keep asking for Obama’s birth certificate. Wait a minute …These ARE the people who keep asking for Obamas’ birth certificate.!!!