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Rod Wolford Sr., former owner of the now
bankrupt Wolford Group - Iowa’s largest contract real estate
seller, was sentenced to 75 years in prison on April 21 after being
convicted of 17 felony counts of fraud and theft.
The sentence is a great consolation for
all the families who were victims and sends a strong message to
other predatory home sellers and white collar criminals in general.
Wolford Sr. was accused of misleading hundreds
of customers and investors in his company’s real estate deals.
His son and partner Rod Wolford Jr. pled guilty to two felony charges
of theft and one for securities fraud in 2005.
In 2003, dozens of CCI members and Wolford
customers stepped forward with their stories of being misled and
deceived. They worked with the Iowa Attorney General to hold the
Wolford Group, once Iowa’s largest contract real estate seller,
accountable for their predatory business practices. As a result,
the Attorney General filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against the
Wolfords in August 2003, which ultimately led to the company’s
bankruptcy and closure. In June 2004, the Polk County Attorney’s
Office filed criminal charges.
“We are ecstatic,” said CCI
members and former Wolford customers Phil & Norma Countryman.
“Considering the financial and emotional suffering he caused
us and hundreds of other customers, we hope he gets the maximum
punishment possible both financially as well as jail time.”
CCI members hope the criminal trial will
be a final chapter in the fight to deter predatory contract real
estate sales. Members’ work to hold the Wolford’s and
other sellers accountable, in conjunction with winning the passage
of a Contract Sales Inspection Ordinance in 2002, has nearly eradicated
predatory contract sales in the Des Moines Metro area. This is another
great example of the power of everyday people.
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