No trial date yet for Champions Group CEO

WBAP 820, KSKY and CNN Radio real estate show host Cliff Robertson charged with fraud and theft

Authorities said this week that no trial date has been set for real estate and investment salesman Cliff Robertson.

Robertson served as the founder and chief executive officer of CHMM Services LLC, working out of Plano as the "Champions Group." He also owned DFWREIN, which was a Dallas - Fort Worth real estate investor network, and was operating in Internet Meet-up groups across the country as the U.S. Investor Center.

Federal authorities told reporters that Robertson has been a "one-man wrecking crew" for many North Texas families, who trusted the radio show host because he was broadcasting and advertising on WBAP 820-AM, KSKY 660-AM, CNN Radio and before that on KRLD 1080-AM.

His Champions Group of Plano previously was a BBB Accredited Business, but currently is not a BBB Accredited Business. The business has a BBB rating of F, on a scale from A-plus to F. The reason for the F rating is failure to respond to one customer complaint. Because BBB Accredited Businesses pledge to “promptly respond to all complaints forwarded by the BBB” and one complaint remained unanswered by the company after several notices, the BBB accreditation was revoked.

U.S. District Attorney John M. Bales of Plano filed a two-felony count indictment against Clifford W. Robertson earlier this fall for defrauding Bank of America by attempting to secure a loan using a false identity, according to records filed in the U.S. Eastern District Court of Texas.

The indictment included a warrant for his arrest. Police executed the warrant earlier this week and delivered him to the Collin County Detention Center for processing. He remains behind bars awaiting a bond order as of Wednesday, according to jail records.

Robertson submitted a loan application to Bank of America for $150,000 in the name of a person only identified in the indictment as "W.H." in care of the Champions Groups. The application included "W.H.'s" social security number that was used "without W.H.'s knowledge or consent on the loan application," the indictment read.

The application identified "W.H." as the company's business manager and provided a fraudulent personal financial statement to the bank that showed that "W.H." was the "100 percent owner of the Champions Groups and had owned the business for five years." The application also instructed the bank to only contact Robertson with any questions about the application.

Robertson instructed Bank of America to wire more than $98,000 of the loan to a Wachovia account number that he controlled. The bank transferred the money on Jan. 25, 2008, according to the indictment.

The grand jury returned two indictments against Robertson on Sept. 10 on charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Police executed the warrant last Friday and booked him into the Collin County jail on a federal detainer agreement, according to court records.

The court also ordered a forfeiture notice of approximately $100,000 in Robertson's name.

If Robertson is convicted of the charges, he could receive a federal prison sentence of up to 30 years and a fine not to exceed $1 million on the bank fraud charge and an additional two year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine for the identity theft charges. Both terms would run consecutively, the indictment read.

To report information, contact:

Attorney for several investors: David Zwerner of Cohen & Zwerner, 211 North Record Street #450, Dallas, TX 75202, at 214-748-0681 or by e-mail at cohzwerlaw@sbcglobal.net.

FBI agent contact numbers: Kathy Lumley 1-817-988-8463 or Trish Ortiz at 1-817-988-8336.

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