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Summit case about alleged sale of SUV is separate from Evergreen mortgage and securities fraud
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Saturday, May 31, 2008
Former Evergreen Corp. President David B. Willan and a co-defendant are to go to trial Monday at the Summit County courthouse on charges of money laundering.
Prosecutors contend in court documents that Willan, 37, and a purported girlfriend, Jamie L. Webb, 22, helped one another divert company funds from the purchase of an '05 Ford Explorer.
The vehicle, originally ''carried on the books of Evergreen Builders,'' according to court records, was purchased in April 2005 for $30,098. Willan then deceptively transferred the title to his name, sold the vehicle and manipulated the funds through various bank accounts to benefit himself and Webb, prosecutors contend.
The case was filed in March as a separate indictment after the major charges against Willan — an alleged scheme of mortgage and securities fraud that bilked investors, homeowners and lenders out of some $16 million, according to prosecutors.
Both cases are scheduled for trial before retired Summit County Common Pleas Judge James E. Murphy, who was assigned to the cases as a visiting judge.
In other developments related to the money-laundering charges, Willan's lawyer, William T. Whitaker, has asked the judge to transfer the case outside the county because of claims that Willan's right to an impartial jury has been prejudiced by ''extensive pretrial publicity.''
Since June 2006, Whitaker contended in court records, ''there have been articles appearing in the Akron Beacon Journal alone at an average rate of one every two weeks for the entire two years.''
Murphy has not ruled on the change of venue.
But Assistant County Prosecutor Brad Gessner said Friday that courts generally do not rule on such motions unless defense and government lawyers are unable to seat a jury.
Jury selection in the money-laundering case is to begin at 9 a.m. Monday.
Willan, the principal figure in a 147-count indictment alleging mortgage and securities fraud in the Akron area, is scheduled for trial in that case on Sept. 8.
He was arrested on those charges in December, but was released from the county jail on March 28 after posting a revised cash bond of $25,000.
Webb, who gave authorities an address in the 1700 block of Northhampton Road in Akron, also is free on bond.
Investigators have described Webb as a personal associate of Willan, claiming she worked as a bartender at a strip club Willan owned on Brittain Road.
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
Former Evergreen Corp. President David B. Willan and a co-defendant are to go to trial Monday at the Summit County courthouse on charges of money laundering.
Get the full article here.
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