White gets continuance on civil case to July 7

Ronald Duane White has received a continuance for his sentencing.   White pled guilty to Bank Fraud on January 14 and was originally to be sentenced on May 19.

According to court documents the probation office requested the continuance due to the complication of the fraud case.  The request states, “…there are still complex issues related to the loss amount that need to be resolved through contact with banking institutions.”

The letter went on to say, “the probation officer is in the process of resolving issues related to the defendant’s personal financial situation.”

White who was one of the owners of Eaton Ferry Marina and related businesses pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud in federal court in January.  At that time there was no indication as to whether it was part of plea bargaining agreement.

January’s action came just four weeks after Duane and Macon White and several of their companies, including D&M Land Company LLC, Duane White Land Corporation, Duane White Land Company LLC, Eaton Ferry Marina Inc., Rivers Edge Land Company LLC, Gaston Pointe Contractors LLC, and Lake’s Edge Land Company LLC, reached a bankruptcy court agreement to give up property and money to BB&T and GE Commercial Distribution Finance Corp.

In that compact, the Whites agreed to transfer Lot 9 at Osprey Point to a liquidation trust established for the benefit of BB&T and GE. When the lot is sold, roughly 70 percent of the money, after taxes and liens are paid, will go to BB&T and about 30 percent will go to GE.

Other parts of that December agreement included Macon White agreeing to pay $59,360 to GE and $140,640 to BB&T; and all parties involved agreed that a GE claim against the D&M Land Co. bankruptcy estate will be disallowed. BB&T also will be granted an unsecured claim against the D&M Land Co. bankruptcy estate of $702,000.

The parties involved agreed that Lake’s Edge Land Company will sell Lot 23 at Gaston Lake, with the first $100,000 of the net proceeds paid to BB&T, and the remainder going to the Nichols & Crampton law firm to cover any fees owed by Macon White.

Duane White’s 33.3 percent interest in Lake’s Edge Land Co. and his 25 percent interest in Gaston Point Developers shall both be transferred to Macon White, the agreement stated.

Eaton Ferry Marina was sold at auction in October of 2007 to Morningstar Group Inc.  Their final bid of  $3,263,400 offer filed with the Warren County Superior Court Clerk’s office on Oct. 8, 2007 was the last one received on the property.

Morningstar had been locked in a bidding battle with Richard Courser, a local man who owns Stonehouse Timber Lodge in Littleton. Courser placed the original high bid during the Sept. 5 foreclosure sale held on the courthouse steps in Warrenton. The sale was part of the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy proceedings by Eaton Ferry Sales and Service, Duane White Land Co., and Ronald Duane White.

During that Sept. 5 sale, bidding started at $500,000 and climbed as high as Courser’s $2.7 million offer. Under U.S. bankruptcy law, however, any party has ten days to place what is called an upset bid, provided the new bid was at least 5 percent higher than the previous offer.

That is exactly what Morningstar did, putting in a bid of $2.96 million. Ten days later, Courser topped that with a bid of $3,108,000, only to be trumped by the final bid from Morningstar.

In the request for a continuance the probation officer stated additional investigative time was needed. The continuance was granted until the July 7, 2008 term of the court.