Civil Trial Stemming From 1564 Hillside Ave. N. Mortgage Fraud Wraps Up In 45 Minutes, Plaintiff Was Unopposed...

Contributed photo, blog post by John Hoff

For years, this blog has followed the many twists and turns of the Larry Maxwell criminal trial and the civil suit which emerged as a result of Maxwell's mortgage fraud. The fraud involved 1564 Hillside Ave. N. (pictured above around the time it was sold for a ridiculous and inflated sum of money) as well as one other property. In summary, the fraud was accomplished because of identity theft. A mild mannered UPS delivery driver named John Foster, who had assiduously built up a lifetime of perfect credit, was impersonated by an "imposter Foster" who was actually a crackhead piece of crap named Jerome Kingrussell.

 As a result of the scheme, the real John Foster's credit (as well as that of his wife) was wiped out and they experienced financial problems.

Larry Maxwell, who now sits in prison, was the mastermind behind the scheme but other little fish were involved, including former JACC executive director Jerry Moore. Regular readers know how much this blogger has gone through to be able to write that previous sentence about Jerry Moore being involved, and so permit me a moment to pour relish upon that hotdog of a sentence.

There were many twists and turns leading to the civil trial, but at long last the trial took place this morning, Monday December 3. No defendants even showed up to oppose the plaintiff in court. To be perfectly fair, some of the defendants are in prison and so showing up would have been difficult, but no legal counsel showed up on their behalf, either. The trial wrapped up in about 45 minutes and was a one-sided presentation of...


...documents and legal arguments.

The Honorable Judge Mel Dickstein presided and made a point of giving any plaintiff attorney who might show up late ample extra time to find their way into his courtroom, delaying proceedings for a bit to leave a window for late attorneys to show. Dickstein called a 10 minute recess, which actually stretched into 15 minutes, and even had a bailiff check the hallway for anybody hanging around. I would have expected Peter "Spanky Pete" Rickmyer to be in the vicinity, but the most famous pedophile court watcher in Minneapolis was nowhere to be found.

Well, it's not like he's missed.

John Foster and Melony Michaels were there in the gallery but not called upon to say anything. Plaintiff's attorney, Shari L. Lowden, admitted 49 documents into evidence without opposition. The documents were in fat binders 5 or 6 inches thick, with tabs and index. The Honorable Judge Dickstein showed little reaction during the dry and document oriented proceeding, but at one point appeared quite interested in response to detailed arguments that First USA Title had simply changed its name and was engaged in "continuation of business."

At the end of the proceeding, Judge Dickstein asked for a document that would place the 49 admitted documents into the precise context of the plaintiff's arguments. Plaintiff counsel promised to produce such a document by Friday.

Judge Dickstein has up to 90 days to make his ruling. In the meantime, Melony Michaels is planning to pursue a private detective's license.