Mortgage Fraud in Fort Wayne by any other name

Rainbow Community was established in 1984. Robin W. Hunt was running this show. Several notable board members during Hunt's reign, Gary Baeten worked for the housing code enforcement, Matthew Harrison, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church and Dale Bloom, a lawyer of Bloom, Bloom, More and Miller. It had a name change to Project Renew and than to NeigborWorks Home and Development Commuinity Organization. A.Dale Bloom prepared the name change document.

But by 1991, another nonprofit discovered that there was money to be made in providing a service to low income neighborhoods. FORT WAYNE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING PARTNERSHIP, INC. was started in 1991 to serve low-and moderate-income residents to move toward home ownership but was adminstratively desolved in 2008.


Some of the board members later will get together to create a for profit business duplicating the same time of service. John Lehner was running the show in 1991.

Dan Kelker vice -president of NBD bank becomes treasurer by 1998 and it was 1997 that Standard Federal Bank vice-president Doug Fyock joins the board.


But this did not prevent board members from the nonprofit to start a new for profit business called NHP Development Inc for engaging in the construction and operation of real estate transactions.


NHP Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and administrative ended in 2008. Some of the board members from Fort Wayne Neighborhood Partnership are listed in bold below who were a part of NHP and the business was in the same building as the FWNHP (No need to pay rent or mortgage and you already have clients coming through the door for the nonprofit) :

Directors

John Lehner
Dan Kelker
Rita Tilden
Tom Niezer
Doug Fyock


But before the organization was desolved complaints were flying that the organization was not on the up and up. Charges such as houses were being overappraised and home buyers were paying taxes on homes that were exempt from property taxes. Some families came forward to file discrimination charges but their complaints did not go forward. Some of these folks hired an attorney, Matthew Elliot and received a small settlement in a class action lawsuit. After funds began to disappear from the FWHP account, it went into receivership.

In 2010, the U.S. Treasury received over $340,000 dollars from the defunct agency's account and the St. Peter's Catholic Church and Zion Lutheran Church (SPZP, Inc.)received $22,000 and an entitlement to other funds owned under a decision made by Salin Bank and Trust Co. Chairman William Salin, appointed receiver of the Fort Wayne Neighborhood Housing Partnership by then-Attorney General Steve Carter. The fund had to go to a like organziation and the organization just happen to bne the lutherans. in 2010.

(I did mention St. Peters and Zion the churches are in a predominately African-Americans community. These churches acquired land that surrounded them that was to be used for a soccer field, however, an African-American organization (the urban league) is making mortgage payment to the builder that in addition houses a public library that was to be used by the children attending the Zion Lutheran School and a nonprofit daycare.)




Robin W. Hunt left Project Renew between 2000-2004 and moved on to form a for profit company called Freedom Financial Mortgage (FFM). Nicole Turner Ridlley Abraham would become the new executive director of Project Renew. FFM would later merge with Freedom Financial Holding Inc which is now called Freedom Energy Holding.