Jackson Jambalaya

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Update 11/2013: Linda has legally changed her name to Linley Patrick.  Just a little FYI for you.  Paradise Pretzels, Music City Pub Crawl are 2 of her latest businesses.


Yes, Linda Peach Harmon made bail after spending nearly a year in the Williamson County jail. Somehow she managed to find a bail bondsman who put up the $125,000 bail. Ms. Harmon was charged with embezzling $50,000 a year ago in Franklin, TN. Ms. Harmon fled when the police showed up at her home to arrest her and was caught several weeks later in Georgia. JJ has confirmed her release with local authorities in Franklin, TN.




Earlier posts on Linda Harmon:
Harmon arrested
Harmon accused of stealing from bank accounts
Did Linda Harmon commit a $900,000 mortgage fraud?
Former Jackson socialite on the run
How low can you go?

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Former Jackson Socialite Linda Harmon made the "Most Wanted" list in Tennessee:
Linda Harmon
"Authorities say a Franklin woman convinced at least two people to invest money with her, only to allegedly rip them off.
The numbers aren't anywhere close to the scale of that big Ponzi scheme in New York, but they're big enough to earn Linda Harmon a seat among the TBI's most wanted."

List

Previous Posts:
Former Harmon home listed for sale
Possible mortgage fraud in sale of home
Former socialite on the run

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Ms. Harmon was a resident of Jackson until three years ago, when she sold her home and moved to Franklin. The Northeast Jackson socialite owned two jury consulting/focus group companies while in Jackson. Before she moved to Jackson, Ms. Harmon was arrested for embezzlement in Rankin County as well, and was sued by D.D. Pepmiller for what she stands accused of in Franklin: bilking investors so she could support a lavish lifestyle. Pepmiller accused her of convincing him to invest $75,000 in her jury-consulting business- "Focus One Research"- through fraudulent means. Apparently the suit is unresolved. Ms. Harmon filed an answer (without represenation it must be added) but no adjudication of the suit was in the file yesterday when examined.

Such complaints didn't deter Ms. Harmon from living well. While in Jackson, Ms. Harmon was quite the social butterfly: a home appraised at over a half-million dollars on the River Hills Country Club tennis courts, Jackson Academy for the kids, tennis leagues, and numerous friends in high-powered circles. Ms. Harmon touted herself on her website as: "a member of the Downtown Jackson Rotary Club, a board member at MS Society for Disabilities, and an active member of the Junior League of Jackson, MS and the Kappa Delta Alumni Association."

Focus One and Trial Focus both purported to provide focus group research to clients for affordable prices. Ms. Harmon even sold franchises for a tidy fee of $5000 (form). Several lawyers at prestigious law firms provided Ms. Harmon with references for her website:

"Your services were provided in a timely manner and the results were veryhelpful to us. I would be glad to talk to any potential clients about your good performance in the cases you've done for us." - Cliff Hodge, PhelpsDunbar, LLP

"I have found Trial Focus' approaches to be highly effective and of tremendous value. We can afford to use them even on smaller cases." -Harold Barkley, Barkley Law Firm"

However, behind the luxurious facade was a string of tax liens, judgements, and financial problems. The online edition of the Hinds County Judgement Rolls reveals the following past judgements against Ms. Harmon:

• A judgement in 2001 for $9,027.45 and attorney's fees. It was satisfied in 2008.
• A judgement by Citizens State Bank for $70,058.64 in 2001. It is listed as not satisfied but this is probably a mortgage and the release was not filed by the creditor.
• A judgement by Bancorp South for $23,032 in 2003 that is listed as not satisfied.
• A judgement by a leasing company for $11,452.12 in 2004 that was satisfied in 2008.
• A judgement by American Express for $6,827.86 in 2002. It is listed as not satisfied.
• A judgement by Unifund CCR Partners for $9,142.72 in 2005. It was not satisfied.
• A judgement by John T. Noblin for $35,438.56 in 2006. Satisfied in 2008.
• A judgement by Household Finance for $14,121.95 in 2003. Satisfied in 2006.

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Update 1/11/09: More proof fraud probably occurred: Market analysis of all homes sold on Petit Bois over the last few years

It seems there is more to the Linda Harmon story than what was posted Thursday. A Jackson Jambalaya investigation reveals mortgage fraud probably took place when Ms. Harmon's Jackson, MS home was sold in 2006. (Yes, you regular readers just knew I was going to go there at some point). Ms. Harmon's former home was sold on December 7, 2006 to a Tracy Williams and Tracey Michelle Goins for $900,000. The loan was provided by WMC, a well-known subprime lender no longer in business) through 80/20 1st and 2nd mortgages. ( 1st Mortgage Deed of Trust & 2nd Mortgage Deed of Trust).

The first mortgage was for $720,000 and contained riders for both a balloon provision and adjustable rate. It was amortized as a forty-year mortgage (due in full in 2037) with an interest rate fixed for two years at 7.5% and would "adjust" every six months after the fixed rate period expired. The second mortgage was for $180,000 with a 25-year term with an undisclosed interest rate.

Here is where it gets weird. The house was foreclosed on exactly a year ago and was sold on September 12, 2008 for $373,500 to Litton Loan Servicing (It is now owned by Arch Bay Holding, a Miami, Fl. firm). Sources have told JJ the house will soon be put up for sale with a listing price of less than $400,000 (which would conform with recent sales of similar homes in that subdivision).

There are several facts about this transaction and the property's history that are suspicious in nature. The house is in a neighborhood where similar homes are approximately $400,000. (Listing of homes on same street and assessed values. Disclaimer: assessed values usually are below the fair market value of the home and don't jump up to $900,000 within a few years). Ms. Harmon built the house nearly ten years ago. (It sits on the River Hills Country Club tennis courts). The house was listed by Ms. Harmon several times with different Realtors in 2005 and 2006. It was withdrawn by Ms. Harmon each time. It was not listed by Ms. Harmon with an agent when she sold the home.

When Ms. Harmon sold her home, her mortgage was with WMC, the same lender who financed the sale on December 7, 2006. The people who bought the home were not residents of Mississippi. The transaction was closed by a notary public in Shelby County, Tennessee (Memphis).

So a house was sold which suddenly doubled in value compared to the homes in its subdivision, a subprime mortgage lender was used for 100% financing, the buyers were out-of-state, the closing took place in Tennessee, the house went into foreclosure soon after the sale, and the auction price was barely above a third of the original sales price. However, there are even more facts about this transaction and Ms. Harmon that show mortgage fraud "probably" took place.

In the post Thursday, JJ reported several hundred thousand dollars in liens and judgements were filed against Ms. Harmon by various creditors. Several liens were filed against the home prior to the 2006 sale yet the judgements were not satisfied until the middle of 2008. Mortgage lenders will NOT lend money on a property that is encumbered (I've been waiting to use that word in a sentence) by liens. Before a lender will provide a mortgage, it requires all liens be paid before or at closing. This is a pretty basic rule of mortgage lending and even a subprime lender will not deviate from this rule, especially for what is almost a million-dollar loan.

One creditor informed JJ the lien was satisfied by a claim against the title insurance policy. Translation: the liens were not paid at closing. If the attorney or notary had performed a the required title search on the home, the liens would have been discovered and WMC would have been notified about the liens and required them to be paid before the loan was closed. The obvious conclusion is no title search was ever performed or if it was ordered, it was probably altered so the lien information was hidden from the lender (the name where there is a space for a notary to sign is that of an attorney, Theresa Barnhardt, of Memphis).

Such a fraud initially seems fantastic until the facts are lined up side-by-side. Mortgage fraud is usually not hard to prove when one starts looking for it on a transaction as there is a great deal of paperwork by several parties on a transaction. Ms. Harmon was probably very familiar with how the mortgage industry operates as she has been on several mortgage industry websites. Several comments on Thursday's posts pointed out the following ads by Ms. Harmon (Broker Universe is a website for mortgage professionals and has pages where loan offices seek financing or advice on certain loan scenarios. These are not websites known to the average consumer or even realtor):

"Loan scenario: MS, $30,000, FICO, 75% LTV, Purchase, SF, full, OO
State: MS Amount: $30,000 Property type: SF Documentation: full FICO: LTV: 75%Occupancy: OO Loan purpose: Purchase SFR in MS looking for quick 25-20K hard money equity loan. House appraised at $785. Balance owed $500K Good income. No Fico requirements. lharmon@Trialfocus.com (615)481-8909 by gatorgirl June 21, 2006" (Translation: She is looking for a $30,000 second mortgage requiring no income documentation and no credit score. In other words, easy money. online ad)

"Loan scenario: TN, $450,000, stated FICO, 70% LTV, Purchase, SF, full, OO
State: TN Amount: $450,000 Property type: SF Documentation: full FICO: stated LTV: 70%Occupancy: OO Loan purpose: Purchase Just found a gem! Four year old foreclosed home that needs some cosmetic work. Bank lien $375K, but asking more. Needs about 40K in repairs. Should appraise for $650-700K when finished. Want to make offer today!" Call 615-481-8909 if you can help.by 10sgirl September 8, 2006" (Translation: No income verification required. Looking for $100,000 in easy money again. Online ad)

So apparently Ms. Harmon was advertising for second mortgages requiring no income verification or credit scores for different homes in different states at the same time in 2006, several months before she sold her home.

So what does all this mean? In recap here are the facts:
1. The house was sold on December 7, 2006 for $900,000.
2. The closing took place in Shelby County, TN.
3. The buyers were from out-of-state.
4. Ms. Harmon, the seller, had no realtor when she sold the house.
5. A subprime mortgage lender was used.
6. The loan was closed without the payment of the liens, indicating either no title search was conducted (not likely, a lender always requires it in the file) or the lien information was concealed (more likely).
7. Foreclosure proceedings were filed against the house a year after the house was sold.
8. The home was sold on September 12, 2008 at a foreclosure sale for an amount little more than a third of the sales price.
9. Ms. Harmon has apparently been advertising for second mortgages requiring no income verification or credit scores on mortgage industry websites for multiple homes before she sold her Petit Bois residence.

As stated earlier, I can speak as an expert on mortgage fraud and this more than meets the criteria for a prima facie case. No underwriter or quality control spcialist for a mortgage lender would approve these loans given these facts. The purchasers have never lived in the house. Within four months after the sale, the home was listed again for sale at $910,000 or rent at $3850 a month (It rented.)

Given the known details of Ms. Harmon and the history of the home on 2027 Petit Bois South in Jackson, the authorities should thoroughly investigate the parties involved in the sale and determine if the buyers even existed, as there is more than enough evidence to suspect the buyers may have been fictitious and the seller walked out with nearly a million dollars after the closing. These details are typical in mortgage fraud cases where people have created completely phony borrowers in order to obtain large sums of money. (It usually requires the help of someone involved in the transaction). Ms. Harmon may indeed have more to answer for than just embezzling in Tennessee and running from the police.

Additional resources: Mortgagefraudblog.com

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Linda Harmon's former home on 2027 Petit Bois is again listed for sale. How low can it go? This home was sold (An earlier post showed how mortgage fraud probably took place.) in December 2006 for $900,000. A payment was never made and the home later went into foreclosure. It was sold in September 2008 for $373,500. The house was then put up for sale at $369,900 (see picture of listing in this post). The home was then listed a two months ago for $275,000. Unfortun- ately for the home, the merry-go-round continues as it is now listed for $225,000. Oh, and Ms. Harmon? She is still in custody in Williamson County Tennessee. See earlier post

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Earlier posts on Linda Harmon

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Well look-ey here. Mortgagefraudblog.com, a leading website on mortgage fraud, posted my story on possible mortgage fraud involving the sale of fugitive Linda Harmon's home in 2006. Thank you very much Ms. Dollar.

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Last week JJ published a story on what looked like a strong case of possible mortgage fraud in Jackson, Earlier post, detaling how fugitive Linda Harmon sold her home for $900,000 in a very questionable transaction. The home is now listed (Don't worry, the title is now clear as it was sold at a foreclosure sale in September) for $369,900.

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Copy of Petition for Temporary Restraining Order against Steadivest

Several plaintiffs filed a Petition for a Temporary Restraining Order against Steadivest in Rankin County Chancery Court on March, 20, 2009. Steadivest is a "family" of companies operated in Pearl by Marshall Wolfe and was the subject of a post yesterday about its problems in bankruptcy and suspected fraud. Rick Lacey, Mike Yarbro, Sue Yarbro, MYSY Rental, Inc.,, A.J. Warren III sought relief from the Court against Steadivest and Mr. Wolfe. The petition states:

"Plaintiff Rick Lacey is a member and minority owner of Steadivest, LLC. ....

Plaintiffs Mike Yarbro, Sue Yarbro, MYSY Rental, Inc., Mike Lacey, and A.J. Warren, III are creditors of Steadivest, LLC.....

Defendant Marshall Wolfe made material misrepresentations to induce the Plaintiffs to invest and/or loan money to, or for Steadivest, LLC. Certain of the representations made by Wolfe were, upon information and belief, either intentionally, or negligently, inaccurate. These acts on the part of Wolfe have and will continue to adversely impact the Plaintiffs and others similarly situated.

Upon information and belief, the Defendants, individually and collectively, have committed waste of the assets of Steadivest, LLC and have failed to act in the best interests of the subject LLC, its members, and its creditors to the extent that the LLC is no longer able to meet its financial obligations. Moreover, Marshall Wolfe individually has admitted that Steadivest, LLC and its subsidiaries are in financial peril.

Plaintiffs have rightfully requested a financial accounting and audited financial statement concerning the condition of Steadivest, LLC from Defendant Wolfe on many occasion between October, 2008 and March 18, 2009. Defendant Wolfe, on behalf of Steadivest, LLC, has wholly failed and contumaciously (Give that word to O'Reilly or the Hot for Words girl) refused to produce the requested documentation to Plaintiffs."

The petition sought to bar Wolfe from any contact with Steadivest and keep him from withdrawing any assets from the company. It also asked the Court to bar him from the premises as they feared documents would be destroyed. The TRO request was never adjudicated as Mr. Wolfe filed a Suggestion of Bankruptcy in response to the petition on March 25, 2009, citing his filing a petition for bankruptcy in Bankruptcy Court on March 23, 2009. The response was successful as federal law provided an automatic stay of this legal action against Steadivest. The plaintiffs however, filed a motion shortly afterwards asking the Court to convert the Chapter 11 filing to a Chapter 7. They argued Mr. Wolfe only filed bankruptcy for one of his companies and was using the Court as a shell game of sorts to stick one company with the bad debts while he continued to operate his other companies (Companies that all had the same address, same owner, and were in the same industry.). The Court agreed and ordered the conversion to a Chapter 7 filing.

I wrote yesterday this case raised every red flag possible for a case of suspected fraud. Sources have told JJ the amount of money investors lost was close to twenty million dollars (A list of the debts has not been released by the Court yet.) and that Mr. Wolfe claims his company collapsed because of the subprime lending meltdown. If this is true, nothing could be further from the truth as when Mr. Wolfe was producing his slick little videos last year, subprime lending had already disappeared in the mortgage industry.

Mr. Wolfe took money from local investors (many of whom went to church with him at Pine Lake Baptist Church) to lend out to individuals interested in purchasing cheap properties in the Jackson area to either rent out or "flip". Mr. Wolfe never financed more than 65% loan to value on the property, which put his company in a good position in case of foreclosure (This is verified on his website.). Mr. Wolfe charged the borrower 3% monthly and guaranteed a return to his investors. Unfortunately, Mr. Wolfe liked to live the good life as he bought a million dollar home in the Palisades and was known for his extravagant living while his investors' money disappeared. If this storyline sounds familiar, it should as regular JJ readers will remember the Linda Harmon story reported earlier this year on this website. One can only hope Mr. Wolfe is not the Mississippi Madoff as this story develops.

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Copy of Motion and exhibits

William Bell, the attorney for Karen Irby, filed a motion to withdraw guilty plea in Hinds County Circuit Court today. Mrs. Irby alleges several facts that should be considered by the court:

1. She did not have a "written attorney-client contract with Joe Holloman" or the other attorneys.
2. "Joe Holloman had numerous phone conferences with Stuart Irby's attorneys."
3. "Karen Irby was never asked to participate and did not participate in any of the telephone conferences that took place between Joe Holloman and Stuart Irby's attorneys."
4. She only learned about the conferences from billing statements or Stuart Irby.
5. Mrs. Irby told Mr. Holloman about the alleged assault but he never informed her it could be used as a defense (KF note: weak. He may not have told her but I'm sure something like that did cross her mind.).
6. Mr. Holloman yelled at Mrs. Irby when she attempted to tell him about the assault and on a later date said he did not want her to discuss it any further.
7. Exhibit attached is a billing statement sent from Holloman to Stuart and Karen Irby.
8. Mr. Holloman rarely discussed Mrs. Irby's case with her but instead told her to call private investigator Charlie Saums. Incidentally, there is no attorney-client privelige between Mr. Saums and Mrs. Irby as several attorneys have informed me.
9. Mr. Holloman provided few, if any documents concerning her case. (KF note: Sources informed me for months that Mrs. Irby had to come to this site to learn about her case and read the documents filed as they were not provided to her.).
10. Mr. Holloman (allegedly) had a conflict of interest.
11. The docket shows Mr. Holloman never filed any formal requests for pre-trial discovery (This site did publish several subpoenas however that were filed by Mr. Holloman).
12. Joe Holloman's budget estimate was over a half million dollars. See exhibit in motion. Good grub if you can get it. Now you see why I posted that little story about Holloman trying to reverse a guilty plea in federal court for $35,000 (actually a habeaus corpus motion) and keeping the money?

Page 22 of the documents posted above are Holloman's billing records. Phelps Dunbar, Watkins Ludlam, you guys need to take some notes because Holloman gives a clinic in how to bill a rich client. This guy is so good he could give even Rudy Warnock or Carl Ray Furr lessons in billing although Mr. Holloman has not quite reached a Waggonarian level as Mr. Waggoner still has Siegfried's gold. Some tidbits:

1. $25,000 for public relations. Twenty-five frickin' grand for PR? They could've paid me half of that amount and gotten a hundred times better job than what the .6 million dollar man provided. We can rebuild Joe Holloman. We can make him greedier, hungrier, but unfortunately not leaner than he was before.
2. $20,000 for "executive support"? "Witness handling"?
3. "War room" office facility: $7,350. Um, doesn't Mr. Holloman have an office ONE BLOCK FROM THE COURT? What was he going to do? Rent out the convention center or the King Edward?
4. $60,000 for mock trial. Another $60,000 for "focus group discussion." I bet Linda Harmon is VERY sorry she moved to Tennessee when she sees this amount.
5. Bill (Projected): $632,224.

For half a million bucks she got to plead guilty and get 18 years. She would've been better off just pleading guilty right off the bat and sticking the half mill in a mutual fund or something. All sarcasm aside, this motion puts a little more meat on the conflict of interest bones although its going to be tough for this motion to succeed in my opinion. Mrs. Irby also filed an affidavit. The docket begins on page 27.

Stay tuned.

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As the filing deadline for the 2019 governor's race approaches, more than 300 Mississippi leaders have publicly signed on to endorse Lt. Governor Tate Reeves. This broad coalition of Trump campaign leaders, elected officials, and grassroots GOP leaders has come together to say that Tate Reeves is the choice of Mississippi's conservative voters. Reeves has earned this historic support because of his record of fighting for lower taxes, better schools, and more jobs.

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