Son of Regent University Law Dean Makes CNBC's "American Greed'"

I've said it may times in the past: in the business world, when someone works their Christian religiosity into an unrelated business discussion, you'd best watch your wallet and check book. A case in point is Troy A. Titus, son of Regent University Law School's founding dean, Herbert W. Titus. While most Christian televangelists basically rob and defraud their sheep like viewers who send them donations, Troy Titus was even more direct in his fraud and robbery of the gullible who were all too often lulled by his claims of his Christian beliefs. Having worked as a consultant with the FBI during the build up of the case against Titus, I found it beyond disgusting how he would even stoop to go to church with and/or pray with his victims. The Virginian Pilot has coverage on Titus' television debut on the CNBC roster. Here are some highlights:
*
The CNBC television program “American Greed” will premier a one-hour episode Wednesday night on Troy A. Titus, the debarred lawyer from Virginia Beach convicted of a multi-million-dollar real estate scheme.
*
A Norfolk federal jury convicted Titus of 33 felonies, finding that he had operated a Ponzi scheme that cost investors around $8 million in losses. The government later said the total fraud amounted to nearly $12 million. Titus is appealing. Titus came from an upper-middle-class, devout Christian family. He studied at Liberty University and the College of William and Mary, and received a law degree from Regent University.
*
CNBC has been putting together the show for about a year. Producers have interviewed victims and others related to the case. A preview can be found at the web site www.cnbc.com. (Follow the CNBC TV link to “American Greed.")

*
Lest readers feel sympathy for Titus senior, they need to realize that, in my opinion, he's just as disturbed as his son - just in a different manner. Despite promising credentials Herb Titus went to the dark side years ago and has been and remains in bed with some of the most extreme religious nutcases to be found. Wikipedia has these details on Titus senior:
*
Along with Roy Moore, Titus was an original drafter of the Constitution Restoration Act which sought to take out of federal court jurisdiction cases that involved public officials that acknowledged God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government, and provided for the impeachment of federal judges who disregarded the act. The act did not pass either time it was introduced.
*
Writings:*
Judicial Tyranny: The New Kings of America?
God, Man and Law: The Biblical Principles

Son of Regent Law School Dean Sentenced to 30 Years

I have touched on this story before along the long slow path of justice catching up with Troy Titus, son of the founding dean of Pat Robertson's Regent Law School who time and time again wore his supposed Christian faith on his sleeve in order to dupe clients and investors into trusting him with their money and assets. Authorities believe he stole at least 12 million dollars that victims will never see again and in the process turned many lives upside down. The moral in my view is that when someone constantly talks about religion in a business context, cover your wallet and run. Especially run from attorneys who talk about being Christian or belonging to "Christian" law firms. Sadly, too many people do not seem to get that message. NOTE: He attended BOTH Falwell's Liberty University and Robertson's Regent University. Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:
*
Disbarred and disgraced attorney Troy A. Titus was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in federal prison for defrauding clients and friends out of more than $8 million, money a judge said the victims will never see again.
*
The 44-year-old father of six wept as he tried to explain himself before U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson and a courtroom filled with family and friends. O ther than blaming his swelled pride, Titus was at a loss.
*
A federal jury in December convicted Titus of 33 felonies, finding that he had operated a Ponzi scheme that cost his victims around $8 million in losses. The government now says the total fraud amounted to nearly $12 million.*
Calling Titus "an economic sociopath," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Moore asked the judge to put Titus behind bars for the rest of his life. While the judge did not do that, Titus will be well past retirement age when he is released, unless he wins his appeal.
*
Titus, whose father is a lawyer, came from an upper-middle-class, devout Christian family. He studied at Liberty University and the College of William and Mary, and received a law degree from Regent University.
*
He owned a successful law practice for around 15 years and held real estate investment seminars across the country before the Virginia State Bar revoked his license in 2005 amid allegations of wide-spread fraud. The FBI began investigating, taking about three years to put together a massive case that led to a 49-count indictment. The jury convicted him on 33 of those counts.

Are These Pictures of the Same Man?

I generally check out Bob Felton's blog, Civil Commotion every day. Bob's an amazing source on some of the idiocy and hypocrisy of the Christianists and similar religious nutcases and frequently makes me look religion friendly. One thing that I have noted is that supposed Christian groups seem to attract a lot of crooks and con men who either gravitate to religion while in prison - convicted Watergate felon Chuck Colson is a good example - so that they can have a lucrative lifestyle while fleecing the simple and ignorant. Others see the monetary opportunity from the get go and prey upon those who ought to know better by wrapping themselves in religion. In this area, disbarred attorney and recently convicted on 39 counts Troy Titus is a prime example. Bob has found this interesting issue in respect to the Baptist missionary kidnapper story coming out of Haiti:
*
The man on the left is Torres Orellana, sought by Interpol for child trafficking. The man on the right is Jorge Puello, who has represented the Baptist missionaries arrested in Haiti on allegations of kidnapping and child trafficking. Puello claims to be a lawyer, licensed in the Dominican Republic, but that country has no record of him.
*
The Americans’ families say that the missionaries knew nothing of Puello’s possibly illicit background, that he appeared to them to be no more than a Good Samaritan trying to help:
*
Jorge Puello was not known to the missionaries’ church group before their arrest for trying to take 33 children out of Haiti, and members failed to check his background, Sean Lankford, the relative who dealt most closely with him, said Saturday.
*
Somehow I doubt that Orellana-Puello will be the last crook to resort to helping "good religious people" after reinventing themselves to hide a criminal past.

Former Regent Law Dean's Son Convicted on 33 Counts

It has taken years for justice to prevail, but yesterday a federal jury convicted Troy Titus (at left) - son of the founding dean of Pat Robertson's Regent Law School (Taliban Bob McDonnell's alma mater) - guilty on 33 counts of wire fraud and ponzi scheme that preyed on real estate investors that included the elderly who were seeking to make higher investment returns to support family members in nursing homes. Besides holding a Law degree from Regent Law School, Titus is a graduate of Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. The case was interesting to me because behind the scenes, I have worked as an unofficial expert with the FBI and given what might be described as "Real Estate 101" instructions to both FBI investigators and one all morning session with assistant U.S. attorneys so that they would understand how legitimate transactions should have been closed and documented as opposed to the fraudulent transactions that Titus and accomplices utilized. Here are some highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

*

A federal jury on Friday found Troy A. Titus guilty of 33 felony counts of mail and wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy in what prosecutors said was a $7 million real estate Ponzi scam. Titus, 43, of Virginia Beach, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each of the most serious mail and wire fraud charges. His total prison time could add up to hundreds of years. U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson set sentencing for April 15. After a one-month trial and four days of deliberations, the jury returned around 11:30 a.m. Friday, finding Titus guilty of 33 of the 49 counts he faced.
*
U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride said in a statement that this case show s the determination among federal authorities to tackle complicated financial fraud cases: "Especially in the light of the recent economic crisis, we are even more determined to work together to aggressively fight financial fraud in this district."
*
When Titus was arrested, officials pegged the losses at $2 million, but at trial, prosecutors said they had since discovered an additional $5 million in losses for victims. The most egregious allegation against Titus was that he swindled from elderly or incapacitated clients who entrusted him to pay for their basic medical and housing expenses. Some were forced out of their homes as a result.
*
Titus obtained mortgages on the properties even though they were already encumbered in debt. He then obtained loans from investors based on his interest in those properties but then stopped paying the mortgages. Banks foreclosed on each property, which Riley and Hannibal did not learn about until much later.
*
An honors graduate of Liberty University and Regent University Law School, Titus operated a successful law firm and real estate investment program for many years. His real estate program became so profitable that he began writing books, holding seminars and putting out DVDs showing others how to do the same.

Federal Fraud Case Against Son of Regent Law School's Founding Dean Goes to Jury

Over my 30+ years in the legal profession, I have found some of the most dishonest and amoral attorneys to be those who intermix religious posturing with business transactions or who hold positions on church boards and councils yet have the amorality of Gestapo officers. I will not name names in general, but the list is fairly long. One that I will mention is Troy Titus, son of the founding dean of Pat Robertson's Regent University Law School. Titus the younger graduated from Regent Law himself after attending Jerry Falwell's Liberty University as an undergraduate. As his trial on multimillion dollar fraud charges shows, these "Christian" institutions of learning surely did not do too good of job in instill morality in Titus. Here are some highlights from today's Virginian Pilot:

*
Federal prosecutors allege that Titus defrauded dozens of clients - including R&B star Teddy Riley and his one-time Blackstreet partner Chauncey Hannibal, both of whom testified - of about $2 million. Titus is charged in a 49-count indictment with conspiracy, mail fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.
*
After four weeks of testimony, the jury heard closing arguments Monday and will deliberate today. Prosecutors presented dozens of witnesses, including investors, former office workers and law enforcement agents, who outlined a series of investment frauds involving real estate transactions and trust funds.
*
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Moore said Titus operated a classic Ponzi scheme. Titus would collect money or property from investors and use the money, or mortgages from the properties, for his own purposes and send small amounts to earlier investors to placate them. But as the scheme grew, Moore said, Titus ran out of money to pay anyone. "He just thought he could find new victims," Moore said.
*
Titus, 43, an honors graduate of Liberty University and Regent University School of Law, for years operated what appeared to be a successful law firm and real estate investment program. His real estate program became so profitable that he began writing books, holding seminars and putting out DVDs showing others how to do the same.
*
Prosecutors allege that Titus was scamming clients since the day he opened his law firm in 1989. His escrow accounts - bank accounts by law meant to hold money from real estate closings - were consistently running short of money. By 2005, the Virginia State Bar had investigated Titus and forced him to surrender his law license. The bar later revoked it permanently.

Bond Revoked for Former Regent Law Dean's Son

The brazenness of those who go about proclaiming their Christian faith while meanwhile swindling people never ceases to amaze me. A case in point, Troy Titus, son of the founding dean of Pat Robertson's Regent Law School, who surrendered his law license in 2005 to avoid disbarment. Past news coverage has indicated that Titus read the Bible or attended church with some of his victims in order to gain their confidence and ultimately their money. Facing 49 indictments he has now had bail revoked for defying the terms of his release on bond. I may be a "godless faggot" in the eyes of Christianists, but my rule is that when someone starts talking about religion in a business setting, you'd better cover your wallet and run. Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

*

While sitting in jail, facing a federal investment fraud indictment, disbarred attorney Troy A. Titus reached out to several individuals, including one-time Olympic superstar Tim Montgomery, with proposed investment deals, prosecutors say. After getting out of jail on bond last fall, Titus went to work for an investment firm earning $7,000 to $10,000 a month, a job that a judge had forbidden him from working, according to court records in the case.

*
After hearing this evidence on Tuesday, a federal magistrate judge revoked Titus' bond and ordered him jailed pending trial, which is scheduled for Oct. 6. Titus faces a 49-count indictment alleging a series of mail, bank and wire frauds involving real estate deals. Federal prosecutors say Titus defrauded around $2 million from a number of clients, including R&B star Teddy Riley and his one-time Blackstreet partner Chauncey Hannibal.

*

Bradberry said that he had heard evidence of Titus' violations at a hearing two weeks ago concerning Titus' finances. After learning that Titus was earning $7,000 to $10,000 a month at an investment firm, the government had moved to force Titus to pay for his public defenders. However, that issue turned moot once Titus went to jail Tuesday. Bradberry, who had set the conditions for Titus' release on bond last fall, said he "did not want him involved in the business world in any way."

*

Titus said nothing through Tuesday's hearing and was not called to testify. When it was over, federal marshals led him away in handcuffs.

Proposition 8 and Christianist Bible Bable

From time to time I check to see what the anti-gay elements are up to and in the process of engaging in that exercise I happened across an article on CNSNews.com discussing the oral arguments on Proposition 8 before the California Supreme Court and was surprised to see that Herbert Titus, founding dean of Pat Robertson's Regent University Law School had injected himself into the debate. Titus is no stranger to far right circles and the myth of the USA being founded as a "Christian nation." His commentary on Proposition 8 further underscore the inability of the Christianists to remove their religious views from consideration of the civil laws. It is also more than ironic, however, that Titus is meddling in the families of others when his own is such a mess and one of his sons is under indictment from stealing money from his law clients. Here is a sampling of Titus' drivel:
*

[T]he real argument against same-sex marriage comes from the recognition that all law stems from God’s law. “Our legal system is based upon the assumption that if human beings pass a rule, if that rule is contrary to God’s law, its not law at all,” Titus said. “We’ve forgotten that.”

*

Ironically, the very foundation of the American legal system – God’s law – is now forbidden in American courtrooms, he added. Judges today, Titus said, have absolutely no regard for anyone who will argue on God’s law – or even natural law.

*

If the nation, in fact, allows judges to create same-sex marriage – eliminating God’s law as the basis for our own statutes – the consequences will be destroy democracy. “It may not happen in a single generation, but ultimately that’s what happens,” Titus said. “Every society that has attempted to establish a system of rules governing sexual relationships discovers that if they do not honor God’s law with regard to sex, then they will suffer economically, they will suffer physically, and certainly they will suffer loss of liberty.”

*

Highlights from a Virginian Pilot story gives a glimpse of God's law and family values as practiced in the Titus family. To me, the story indicates that Titus needs to clean up his own family before he pontificates and tries to deny family rights and equality under the to others (Note: his son always wore his alleged Christian faith on his sleeve to gain the confidence of victims):

*

The FBI on Tuesday arrested disbarred lawyer Troy A. Titus on a federal indictment, charging him with defrauding at least $1.5 million from former clients, including onetime R&B star Teddy Riley.

*
Agents arrested Titus, 42, at his Chesapeake home about 7 a.m. following a lengthy investigation into his real estate dealings. Titus made a brief appearance that afternoon in U.S. District Court, where the 10-count indictment was unsealed.

*

While the indictment lists cash losses of about $1.5 million, it says the actual losses could be millions more when foreclosed-upon homes and properties are factored in. According to the indictment, Titus had claimed to be making real estate investments on a number of properties, but he often never filed deeds of trust or he filed deeds of trust on properties that already had liens on them worth more than the properties' assessed values.

*

Titus also is accused of preying on a widow.

Regent Law School Attorney Indicted for Real Estate Fraud

Former attorney and Regent Law School graduate, Troy A, Titus, has been arrested on a federal indictment, charging him with defrauding at least $1.5 million from former clients. One of Titus' tactics to gain clients' trust is reported as taking them to dinner, taking them to church and praying with them and talking up his religious faith. In my experience as an attorney, whenever an attorney talks about religion in the context of their legal representation of a client, the smart thing to do is run and watch your wallet as you flee. Here are some highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

*

The FBI on Tuesday arrested disbarred lawyer Troy A. Titus on a federal indictment, charging him with defrauding at least $1.5 million from former clients, including onetime R&B star Teddy Riley. Agents arrested Titus, 42, at his Chesapeake home about 7 a.m. following a lengthy investigation into his real estate dealings. Titus made a brief appearance that afternoon in U.S. District Court, where the 10-count indictment was unsealed.

*

The indictment says Titus solicited funds from clients for real estate projects by making false representations and promises as to where the money would be invested. In addition, according to the indictment, Titus used "funds obtained from one set of investors or other sources to make 'lulling' payments to other investors" in order to create a false impression that funds were invested properly and yielding profits. . . . Earlier this year, The Pilot reported that Titus faced at least a dozen lawsuits from former clients who claim he bilked them out of a total of between $2 million and $3 million.

*

Titus also is accused of preying on a widow. Doris Addenbrook and her husband, Robert, had been longtime Titus clients. When Robert Addenbrook died in 2001, "Titus began dining with Doris, taking her to church and praying with her, activities he had never previously engaged with Doris," the indictment says. "He told Doris that he wanted to ensure that she would have no further worries," the papers say.