Attorney Brian Kish has filed a civil racketeering influenced corrupt organization, or RICO, lawsuit against Mahoning County Sheriff Randall Wellington, and four appraisers-- Daniel Battisti, Gail Battisti, Geraldine Damico and Richard Jeren --alleging a pattern of corrupt activity, and several criminal violations.
"Telecommunications fraud, tampering with evidence, theft by deception, tampering with records, additional money laundering prohibitions...," says Attorney Brian Kish.
Kish represents one client whose home was foreclosed on, and sent to sheriff's sale. The law says a group of three unbiased people are supposed to independently render three separate values of the home, but Kish says that's not what's happening.
Of the nearly 4,000 cases that have gone to sheriff's sale from June 2006 to January 2009, Kish pulled a random sample of 65 and found appraisers filling in identical amounts, and collecting their $50 fee per appraisal.
"I think the intent was to get paid for not doing an honest day's work," says Kish.
In some instances, only one dollar amount is listed with the word "SAME" filled in on the other lines. All of them were approved by Sheriff Wellington. Kish says, "The fact that his name, his signature, or his stamp appears on each and every one of these, it is impossible, in the absence of fraud, collusion, and committing corrupt activity, consistent with the criminal RICO statutes, for this to be anything but the result of knowing fraud."
Kish says not only his client, but thousands of people have potentially been harmed by this practice, and may be entitled to compensation. The case has been assigned to Judge R. Scott Krichbaum's Court, and will proceed like a normal civil trial.
"These people will be placed under oath and have to answer my questions, and I think they're going to have a very uncomfortable time doing that," says Kish.
