Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Bond Document Reveals Much About Harvest Prep, Some Details About Eric Yusef Mahmoud's Involvement In A Mortgage Fraud...


Creative stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

I will probably have to preface any story about bond issues at Harvest Prep/SEED Academy with this disclaimer: bonds are not one of my areas of knowledge. But there is a story here, (the Star Tribune thinks there is a story, also) and even without expertise in bonds I know that sentences like "The Borrower has previously committed monetary and other defaults on several monetary obligations..." are worrisome.

So I will throw the relevant documents out in the world for public scrutiny and I will highlight what I see as worrisome sections of the documents.

Click here for extensive document on the Harvest Prep bonds.

According to a regular reader of mine who knows a little something about bonds, the following...


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(The bonds) were issued by the City of Minneapolis, as a lease revenue bond.  This is a pass-thru method to use the good name of the City to issue bonds for a group which would not otherwise be recognizeable to investors.  Everyone has heard of the City, Seed and Harvest not so much.  The City is NOT obligated to pay off the bonds (good thing in this case).  They, like most munis, have an OPTIONAL CALL feature:  the issuer can redeem the bonds at a set date prior to maturity, in this case 1-1-13.  Bonds are also callable for various other reasons, including change in tax laws, destruction of building, default, etc.

These bonds are not rated by any rating agency (S&P, Moodys, Fitch) and were to be sold only to "Accredited Investors" which means not to the run-of-the-mill muni buyer looking for tax-free income.  I believe (but may be wrong) that the floor for accredidation is a net worth of 1 million.
Possibly the most interesting thing I found, and I admit I did not go through the entire OS, was found on p.6, "Prior Payment History of the Borrower".  It shows a list of several defaults and late payments to a number of lenders.  This section is followed by several paragraphs covering Mr. Mahmoud's arrest in Georgia.

So, the short version of this is: nothing sinister about the bonds getting called early, necessarily.  Looks to me like this is just a normal call indicating they want to pay off some of their debt ahead of schedule.

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Yes, let's look over that section about Eric Yusef Mahmoud and what it says in regard to mortgage fraud. This is what it says in an extensive section called "Issues Relating To Eric Mahmoud."

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On June 17, 2005, Eric Mahmoud and four other individuals were arrested by Gwinnett County, Georgia for the alleged offense of Residential Mortgage Fraud (the "Offense") in connection with a residential real estate transaction in Atlanta, Georgia in violation of Official Code of Georgia Annotated 16-08-02 (the "Mortgage Fraud Act"). The Arrest Warrant stated that Mr. Mahmoud is accused of "knowingly using or facilitating the use of a deliberate misstatement, misrepresentation, and/or omission, knowing the same to contain a deliberate misstatement, misrepresentation, and/or omission, with the intention that it be relied upon by a mortgage lender during the mortgage lending process contrary to the laws of the State of Georgia."

The arrest warrant further stated that the misstatement, misrepresentation, and/or omission was a fraudulent loan application in an attempt to "close" on the sale of a residential home (The "Atlanta Home") in Atlanta, Georgia.

A conviction under Mortgage Fraud Act is a felony and is punishable by (i) imprisonment of not less than one year and not more than ten years, and (ii) by a fine not to exceed $5,000.

Eric Mahmoud was arrested by Gwinnet County officials along with four other individuals involved in the real estate transaction. The sale price of the Atlanta Home was proposed to be $5.5 million. The assessed value of the Atlanta Home at the time of the proposed sale was $3.9 million. An appraisal was commissioned in connection with the proposed sale of the Atlanta Home and valued the Atlanta home at $5.546 million.

Mr. Mahmoud was not the proposed buyer or the proposed seller of the Atlanta Home and he did not commission the appraisal of the Atlanta Home. However, Eric Mahmoud did introduce the proposed buyer to the proposed seller of the Atlanta Home. 

(JNS blog interjects: Wow, in Atlanta they prosecute for that kind of thing. I wish that kind of thing was prosecuted in Minneapolis)

After the arrest warrant was issued for Eric Mahmoud, an initial hearing was held on June 24, 2005 for this matter. Eric Mahmoud is currently free on bail of $50,000. The case again (sic) Eric Mahmoud has been reviewed by the prosecutor's office and returned to the investigating peace officer for further investigation. As of the date of this Official Statement, the Gwinnet County District Attorney's Office has not indicted Eric Mahmoud with a crime under the Mortgage Fraud Act.
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JNS Blog says: There were apparently developments after the writing of that statement. I continue to dig into this matter. My next blog post on this topic will concern the very interesting things that happened with the IRS.

However, readers can find that stuff in the same document linked above. There's other stuff in that document, too. If Harvest Prep interests you, dig into that document.

I conclude with an editorial comment: HOW ON EARTH were bonds issued that had any connection with Eric Yusef Mahmoud whatsoever? Who was the municipal genius (sarcasm font) who gave the go ahead for Minneapolis to be involved in these bonds associated with this...this...SHADY CHARACTER, Eric Yusef Mahmoud?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ivan Arrington is posting pictures of you on facebook with your name and tagging people - fyi

Johnny Northside! said...

And who is Ivan Arrington?

Anonymous said...

Ivan seems to have it out for you. The recent breakdown of the past comments and threats feed makes your blog boring as hell and now you have people stalking you. Best of luck to you.

Anonymous said...

By the grace of God this dishonest man should eventually be in jail. I am praying that such heinous actions and devious deeds will leave him with eternal flames licking at his blasphemous heels.

Johnny Northside! said...

I looked into Ivan CLARENCE Arrington. He is some kind of wannabe involved in music.

What's he going to do? Write a SONG about me?

Here's his rap sheet, if you can even call it that. What's he going to do? Fail to yield while I am in an intersection?


27-CR-07-116917
ARRINGTON, IVAN CLARENCE
07/05/1986
10/09/2007
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Brookdale
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
Drugs-Possess/Sale Small Amounts of Marijuana

27-CR-08-42338
2080069939
ARRINGTON, IVAN CLARENCE
07/05/1986
08/22/2008
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Brookdale
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
Fail to produce proof of insurance - whether or not the owner

27-VB-11-15934
511021651
511021651
ARRINGTON, IVAN CLARENCE
07/05/1986
12/15/2011
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Brookdale
Crim/Traf Non-Mand
Under Court Jurisdiction
Drivers' Licenses - No Drivers License in Possession or Fail to Display Upon Request
Right of way stop sign-the driver of a vehicle shall stop in obedience to a stop sign, at an interse

Anonymous said...

I work in the bond world, and most bonds have a option to payoff the loan prior to the maturity date. But this deal is backed by a Letter of Credit (LOC). So the Holders are guaranteed payment on Principal & Interest Pymts. They draw off the LOC Bank, and the School will be billed P&I Pymts. When it comes to the bond world, a lot of people don't understand the mechanics behind it. If I kept rambling on about the deal, I would put you to sleep.

Johnny Northside! said...

I urge you to ramble on. Yes, you might put ME to sleep but I'm a promulgator of information. Some stories are more interesting than others, but if it's useful information then put it out there.

Anonymous said...

Do you look up the criminal background of every white person that criticizes you or only the blacks?

Johnny Northside! said...

Why don't you go take a long, hard look at blog posts I've written about Asian car thieves, about white mortgage fraudsters, about white sex offenders like "Spanky Pete" Rickmyer, about Paul Koenig the "one man housing crisis" who is arguably whiter than me because he shaves his head and therefore shows more skin, about Keith Reitman, and the list goes on.

I make no racial distinctions. It's all about behavior.

Johnny Northside! said...

I received an email which included the following comment:
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Also noted in the current financials that they are owed over $300,000 for lease payments from a previous tenant. Looked like they are in the process of writing off said bad debt. WTF?
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To which I say: Who was this tenant?

Anonymous said...

If what you say is true, i want an update on why Troy Neuberger is a free man and the rest of the Beat-Down posse is in jail. I believe the problem that exists is called lying.
You have wrote about one asian and you have a personal obssession with Stephensen, and you do not truly give a damn about fairness. Joe and junior want to know.

Johnny Northside! said...

I have written about a number of Asians. When you say one Asian, you are looking at the past week. Why don't you look at the 3,000 blog posts I have written and see if I've written about more Asians?

As for the Beat Down Posse, here is what I wrote and take it how you will. My feelings about them are mixed. And I'm not the only one with mixed feelings.

http://adventuresofjohnnynorthside.blogspot.com/2012/03/mug-shot-for-robert-big-joe-gustafson.html

As for Troy Neuberger, yes, you have sparked my interest. I am now working to obtain the criminal complaint against him and publish it. The one against Big Joe Gustafson, too, though it's probably full of repetition. I'm sure it will be full of fascinating details.

There's only one guy I know who mentions that "Johnny should write about the Beat Down Posse" thing. And that's Don Allen.

Let me say ONE WORD about Don Allen.

It's a flower. But it's also a name. Do you catch my drift, Don Allen?

Anonymous said...

This might be what your are looking for. Neuberger complaint starts on page 9.
vvoice.vo.llnwd.net/e10/5452675.0.pdf

Johnny Northside! said...

Wow. That's a hell of a criminal complaint.

Of course, what this MEANS is the complaint document has already been published and is OUT THERE on the internet.

So I'm going to go add that link to my "Big Joe Gustafson" blog post with his mug shot, but the existence of this document online pretty much kills my intention to write anything about Neuberger.

There's nothing useful to add to the story, here, except the addresses on the criminal complaints. I mean, I could throw the addresses up there, too, so they'd end up in search engines in association with this story but, honestly, that's just a "useful crumb" of info. It merits being added as a comment to an existing blog post but doesn't even rise to the level of being worth a story.

There is no point in this blog writing about the Beat Down Posse. This is a story that has been chewed to a fine gruel by the mainstream media. This blog doesn't repeat coverage already performed by the mainstream media. No, not even when some anonymous commenter wants to call me a racist because apparently I haven't written enough about a story that has already been trampled to death by the mainstream media.

Anonymous said...

So what you are basically doing is taking a page out of the N.R.A handbook of obsfucation and avoiding the true nature of, and foundation of, your inability to confront a white biker gang( with the N.R.A. it is obviously society) in any honest manner.
Maybe you are afraid the remainder of the gang will chew you to a fine"gruel". You are smart, i guess.

Johnny Northside! said...

Maybe you need to go back and read my previous comment and put on your "this could actually be true" hat instead of the "I'm going to find a reason to disagree and say this is not true" hat.

And walk around wearing the first hat for a while and see if it makes sense? Because I assure you I gave you the actual reason.