Former attorney sentenced in $2M Ponzi scheme

By Mashaun D. Simon

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The McDonough man accused of collecting over $2 million from more than 20 victims across three states has been sentenced for his “Ponzi” scheme.

Attorney Steven H. Ballard, 53, was charged with one count of wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. He will serve five years, three months in prison to be followed by three years supervised release. Ballard was also ordered to pay approximately $1.13 million in restitution to scheme victims. He was disbarred in 2006 and can no longer practice law in Georgia.

Yet one victim is not very happy with the sentence.

Peachtree City attorney Don Comer, a friend of Ballard’s for 25 years and former golfing companion, said the sentence is not what he and others who lost money had expected.

“It hardly seems justifiable for someone who financially ruined dozens of people’s lives,” Comer said. “He stole a couple of million of dollars. We still don’t know where it all went.”

Ballard faced up to 20 years in federal prison. Attorneys, said Comer, had them believe Ballard would serve at least 10 years.

From September 2002 through May 2006, Ballard operated his fraudulent real estate investment scam, promising lucrative real estate and other investments which never took place, according to information presented in court. He would take a portion of funds obtained from newer clients to repay former victims.

The $2 million he obtained were from investors in Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee, according to information presented in court. In Georgia, Ballard’s victims lived in Duluth, Dunwoody, Fayetteville, Jackson, Jonesboro, Newnan, Palmetto, Peachtree City, and Whitesburg.

While Ballard has been ordered to pay back the $1.13 million, Comer said he does not expect to get back the money he lost. But he is not too worried about his losses.

“We will see what happens after five years,” he said. “We were able to recover. But I feel bad for those who lost their entire life savings.”