Jerry Bengtson Bengston Heartland Financial Services , Heartland Investment Fund W. Gordon Snyder, Navigator Services, Verlin Gradney, Dave Gradney, David Gradney-El, James Jimmy Lujan, Stone Development, Stone Financial, Stone Private Equity, Pacific Asian Holdings, $52,500 for upfront Loan Mortgage Fee Scheme, Fake Documents, Have not closed loans in past 18 months plus. New stories Olathe, Kansas KS & Temecula, California CA Nationwide

We were scammed for $52,500 by a fraud that involved many parties.

 Jerry Bengtson, a former banker of 30+ years in Kansas City area. In the process of our due diligence, he forwarded us with fabricated proof of fund letters from HSBC and corporate documents that contained frauds as well as he repeatedly and consistantly misrepresented the loan capabilities of a Native American fund, better known as David Gradney, Verlin Gradney, Gradney Associates, and Stone Development. See Attachments. He used his prior professional experience with us, and used our trust in him, to help extract $52,500.00 of our money for upfront fees for a loan.

W. Gordon Snyder, a former investment handler in Kansas City with decades of experience in finance industry. He is/was Jerry’s local business partner , copied on emails, but more recently tried to distance himself from this matter.

Verlin Gradney, a 40 something year old in Temecula California who is very articulate , was director and board member of the Stone Financial, Stone Private Equity, Gradney and Associates, and many other companies. He recently admitted that he does not have any money to lend nor capability to lend and does not have any way to get any. Supposedly met with the “Department of Treasury” (IRS) for their money for “Native American Settlement”.

David Gradney (Dave Gradney-el). Temecula CA resident, The 35-40 year old brother of Verlin. Far less articulate partner in Stone Development et al. Despite “not having money for groceries”, has a new 2015 Mercedes.

Jimmy Lujan (James Lujan) – This individual has been formerly reported for similar upfront fee scams. At the time of my loan, he was in “underwriting and legal” but was then “Director of Stone”

In the spring of 2014 we were looking for a source to refinance our mortgage and to obtain construction funding in the amount of $3,500,000.00 four our partially building residential and commercial property. Mr. Jerry Bengtson, whom we knew for over 20 years as a commercial lender at various banks, vice president of other banks, and also president of a bank in Kansas, came to us to provide funding. He elaborated about a lender he successfully works with who would be interested in funding our project. He told us that he and his partner, Mr. Wes Gordon Snyder of Black Diamond Strategies (also do business as Heartland Financial Services, Heartland Investment fund, and Navigator Investment Services – “HIF”)  had great success with this lender helping others complete their projects in the past.  Jerry repeatedly told us that he had closed numerous transactions with this Lender.

We fully disclosed everything about our complete financial status; including loan modifications, our previous bankruptcy, credit scores, and difficulty to obtain a traditional bank loan for construction. Mr. Bengtson explained that the lender he has, was project based and looked at the current and projected incomes and understood that real estate developers had experienced issues like ours during the real estate collapse and recession/depression of 2008-2010.

He also told us that he and his partner, W. Gordon Snyder, have also paid $100,000.00 to Stone for a loan that they were obtaining for their business from the same funding source.  Based on our two decades of friendship and business relationships with Mr. Bengtson and the documentation provided to us about the lender and his assurances about the lender, we proceeded and followed his directions. Mr. Bengtson was to be paid a fee upon the successful funding and closing of the loan. We proceeded with providing necessary documents to begin the application process. We signed the success payment fee agreement for Mr. Bengtson as requested. We explained to Mr. Bengtson that our mortgage would be maturing quickly and that we needed quick closing and funding which was as he told us, the way the lender works which is why he recommends this source.

We provided financial documents, tax returns, projections and a full loan package to Mr. Bengtson. The lender began their due diligence using Jimmy (James) Lujan and Jerry Bengtson told us he was the lender’s underwriter, for Stone Development (Verlin and David Gradney). Shortly thereafter, HIF provided the lender’s Letter of Commitment, detailing the terms of the loan and requiring a $52,500 commitment fee for funding.  Because of the size of the money, we were very hesitant to send our money to the people he told us to. We asked if we could put the money in escrow for them to receive upon completion of the transaction. Benston told us no as you should follow his request and send the money to the people he had mentioned.  When we received the invoice for the $52,500 loan commitment fee, we received trust document and lender’s financial statements. We had questions about these documents and he glossed them over and provided detailed responses as to their liquidity and funding capability.

Once again Jerry Bengtson repeatedly assured us of not only the capability of the lender, but his own deposit of $100,000 for his loan, and also his past successes with this lender.  Jerry emailed us bank statements (fake HSBC documents attached) explaining that they had the funds to deliver and trust documents showing the lenders had authority to lend, which we have now learned are all fabrications.In June 2014, my husband flew to the offices of Stone Development to meet personally with the Gradney’s but they were not in town. Their offices appeared as Jerry Bengtson portrayed them to be.My husband and I had several meetings with Mr. Bengtson on the phone and in person. After the money was sent, we asked when final documents would arrive and we were told by HIF that the loan documents arrive “usually within 1 week”. (email attached)  We contacted the lender after a short period to verify fund receipt and to ask status of the loan documents and were scolded by Jerry Bengtson for “breaking protocol” and he insisted we only speak to him. See email attachment. We were instructed by Jerry that we were only to contact him, not the lender directly.  We were provided an email exchange where Verlin Gradney indicated that if we broke protocol, they would cancel the loan and return our funds.  Weeks go by and several more emails and phone calls are exchanged. We were told the loan documents had been lost originally in the mail but we then received them in August 2014. The terms and conditions were consistent with the Letter of Commitment. The documents were signed by us and returned to the lender and copied to Mr. Bengtson.

The loan was to fund on or before September 15, 2014. We provided this information to our first mortgage. September comes and no funding occurs. We repeatedly emailed and call Mr. Bengtson for updates and in October 2014 we were provided a letter stating there was a bottle neck in the funding process (see attached) but it would be resolved by year end. As the months continued to drag on, we inquired status updates and were provided a variety of excuses. Jerry told us that he knew first hand that the lender was in D.C. speaking with the Department of Treasury for the release of the money to fund our loan. Conversation between Christina and Jerry attached.

For the next several months we continued communicating with Jerry and received a variety of closing dates and statements that we now know were just lies.

In April 2015 we contacted an attorney who made repeated requests to either fund our loan or return our $52,500. Those letters were ignored. 

We became more urgent about our funding as our mortgage matured and the loan had not funded and we kept getting a host of excuses and more reassurances that “the loan is funding”, “the lender has more than ample means to secure the funds”, and “they are just delayed”, be patient.

My husband and I expressed our frustration and emotional upheaval caused by the delays with this process. Mr. Bengtson gave the impression that he made a few attempts with banks to obtain a loan. Due to our credit and previous bankruptcy these attempts were unsuccessful and the denials from the bank were blamed on us although the information had been previously provided to him. We believe this was only a smoke screen to keep us hanging there and prevent us from taking any actions. Mr. Bengtson again told us each phone call and meeting that the lender was “for real” and has experienced delays he has not seen before. His responses came anytime I asked if loans are closing or “is this for real or a scam”.

Beginning late April 2015 (9 months after fees were paid), we were told again by Jerry Bengtson that we needed to be patient and the loan would be closing in 2 weeks. Mr Bengtson would drop by unannounced to my office and rattle off names of other borrowers and would discuss in detail, what we now know to be a complete fraud scheme, about his partner, W. Gordon Snyder and their lawyer drafting the documents with the loan now being funded once by Ivan Jones and Farazad Investments and then later by  Antonio Yap and Pacific Asian Holdings. During these “visits” he would waive emails and papers in front of us but would not let us read them.

On one unannounced visit when my CPA and I were in the office, Jerry Bengtson told me that a private investigator had been making prank calls to Verlin and David Gradney and Bengtson threatened me to “call off the dogs” telling me that if I had sent an investigator on the lender that I would “piss them off” and not get a loan, messing finances up for everyone.

The ever changing “closing dates” and new capital partner stories continued through May, June and July. Mr. Bengtson repeatedly told us new stories about loans from 10 Million to 100 Million that were being delayed and were set to close any day. In addition, he kept reiterating that his business partner and his attorney were working on documents and MOU and pay orders etc. None of this made sense. He would waive different pages of emails and letters in front of me and would rattle off names but would not let me read anything.

Over the past few months, Jerry Bengtson told us intricate stories. One story was that the lender just wanted to settle and get out of his mess and would pay us $150,000. Bengtson later changed the story and told us they would send us $750,000, once he told us we would get $2,500,000 as liquidated damages just to be done with us that would not have to be paid back, and not even a week later told us they would fund the full loan shortly.

In August 2015 we once again requested our $52,500 to be returned. This time, we received a hostile response from Bengtson and he sent an email back to us changing the players. The person Jimmy Lujan (who we have learned has ripped off many other individuals) was now the “director” of the lender. Even after he sent this email response he continued to tell us that the loans were closing and ours was set to close within the next few weeks.

Fearing the worst, we have been scammed, I made a call to the FBI and provided information. I hired a PI to visit the offices of the lender and researched the secretary of state, and other authorities involved in loan fraud, wire fraud, etc.

Shortly thereafter, we were told by Bengtson that we would be getting a different loan, at a different rate, for a different term. Needless to say this loan was nowhere close to what we paid for, and waited over a year for. In short, the “new loan” would be from a company controlled by Jerry Bengtson and his partner, W Gordon Snyder, combined to be Heartland Investment Fund with their attorney. After reading the documents thoroughly we discussed this new loan with him and told him flat out that he was scamming us. He told us that the terms and conditions were the best he would do for us and again explained that we would be funded when the loan closed which would be in September 2015.

For several months, I routinely researched the lenders hoping to find additional information and to make sure they were still in business as I was doubting everything I was told and emailed. I stumbled upon another victim from the lender. Upon contacting him, we learned that our experiences were parallel with his.

The September 2015 date came and went. The new story told to us by Jerry was that Pacific Asian Holdings was slowly but surely funding all the loans made by the lender. Supposedly there were 10 loans that needed funding. We were part of loan #7. Allegedly, the lender closed on Loan 5 on September 25^th and was  telling us about the other loan closings.

We demanded a conference call with Jerry Bengtson and the lender, Stone Development, Verlin Gradney, and David Gradney. The conference call solidified the fact that we were scammed. Both Jerry Bengtson and the lender were “leading” each other throughout the discussion but we learned several things on that call.

1. The lender does not have the ability to fund the loan.
2. Our $52,500 that we sent for our loan commitment fee has been spent and they do not have it to send back.  Verlin Gradney first told us he needed other sign offs, but finally just admitted he did not have the money.
3. The same people, who are telling me that they do not have $52,500 in their possession, were telling us, the next sentence, that they are waiting for over $100,000,000.00 (One hundred million dollars) to be deposited into their account.
4. Jerry Bengtson and lender told us that we will be funded on October 15^th, 2015.
5. Throughout the call, Jerry Bengtson leading the discussion, and assuring us of the capability of the lender.
6. The lender on the conference call, Verlin Gradney, told all of us, my husband, Jerry Bengtson, and myself that Pacific Asian Holdings has not yet funded any loan. If this is the case, which we now to be true according to Pacific Asian Holding, then no loan had been funded and Jerry was lying to us.
7. The letter from HSBC bank proof of funds letter sent by Jerry Bengtson, his partner, HIF  and the lender were false and/or forgery.
8. The statements that loans have “closed and funded” by Jerry Bengtson is a lie .
9. Jerry Bengtson, involved his partner, W Gordon Snyder, and an attorney in this elaborate scheme, in several different ways.
10. When I called the lawyer in question, he denied being partners with Jerry Bengtson and has only met him one time. However, the attorney is business partners with W Gordon Snyder but to this date we have no confirmation whether this attorney is party to this group of dishonest bankers.
11. Bengtson answered questions and provided information and responses on his own accord, copying his partners. We believe that he is most likely to be a ring leader in this group of individuals.
12. Jerry Bengtson used his nearly 30years banking experience and our 20 year relationship and friendship to help get $52,500 from us.
13. Jerry Bengtson and his partners broke any and all fiduciary duty to us by unilaterally changing their position in this situation, albeit I believe a strict ethical duty.
14. We relied on statements and representations made by Jerry Bengtson including his first-hand knowledge of the lender and the closed transactions with other entities.
15. Jerry Bengtson uses credible persons and parties to make illegitimate people appear legitimate.
    1. Snyder uses a domain name which is the same as a legitimate finance company however the extension is different (…strategies.net versus…strategies.com).
    2. The attorney Jerry Bengtson kept referencing, who was supposedly drafting documents on the loan, had been an attorney for nearly 45 years.
    3. Jerry Bengtson repeatedly told us about that his partner is completely aware of our loan.

October 20^th, 2015 ( 16 months after the $52,500 was paid) My husband and I requested another meeting with Jerry Bengtson and requested his business partner to attend. Jerry arrived at my office and continued to claim that Stone Development, Verlin Gradney and David Gradney were legitimate.  He reiterated that he and his partner paid $100,000.00 themselves for a loan. Jerry also went to say that my recent communication with another victim was sabotaging the loan funding (which should have occurred over a year ago) and “making things difficult” for the lenders. After hearing enough of his lies about capital partners, the capabilities of Stone Development and the Gradneys, we asked point blank  “have any of the other 10 people you told us about ever been funded?” and more generally  “have you ever closed a loan with this lender”? He had nothing to say.

My husband and I also told him point blank, “This is a scam, you are the perpetrator of this elaborate scam, we are probably not the only victim” and other statements along this line. We explained that we have gone to several law enforcement agencies and legal counsel. Bengtson had no response  but was discouraging us from taking any action and even forewarned us that if we attempted litigation we would need to be prepared for a countersuit for “filing a frivolous suit” against him.  After a few minutes of additional discussions, he told my husband and I that we are not the only ones in this situation. His story quickly and completely changed as he then told us that he and his partner have not been funded on their loan either even though they paid $100,000.00. I was shocked when he stated that the loan he paid for was supposed to have closed months before he first brought the lender to our attention since they had not funded his loan and secondly that he was adamant about their funding capabilities. The next day, he provided us with a copy of his loan documents, proof of wire transfers for $75,000 instead of $100,000 he has claimed all along, and a proof of funds letter regarding this transaction which is being investigated.

The “proof of funds” letter is/was an obvious fake. The proof of funds letter was presumably from Dr. Alex C Mills (who is the same individual listed as a board member of the lender). When we spoke to Dr. Mills he stated that the logo and letterhead on the letter is fake although the address and contact numbers are real. Interesting enough, we have learned that the same so-called Dr. Alex C Mills is himself a fraudulent fellow who does exactly what Jerry does ie collect upfront fees from unsuspecting business owners and numerous reports are posted on-line about him as well.