Thursday, Jan. 8, 2004 | 11:02 a.m.
David Ferradino, president of the now-defunct Interstate Mortgage Group Inc., entered an innocent plea Wednesday to charges that he committed 51 counts of theft in a Henderson land deal.
The Nevada attorney general's office, which filed the charges, claims Ferradino raised $5.4 million from individual investors for the purchase of more than 27 acres of land at Stephanie Street and the Beltway.
He did not, however, disclose that more than 13 acres was required to be deeded back to the city of Henderson for use as a school and park, said Deputy Attorney General Matthew Dushoff.
The charges also claim that the land sold for about $1.4 million.
"After all the costs and fees are done it left over $4 million," Dushoff said after the arraignment. "That money went to Interstate and has never been seen again."
Pamela Lawson, an attorney representing Ferradino, disputed the claim. She said documents will show that the $4 million went to repay an old loan and that investors were aware of the transaction.
"I don't know all the facts yet, but there is a lot more than meets the eye than what's in the indictment," Lawson said.
Clark County District Court Judge Donald Mosley set an Aug. 30 trial date. Lawson said she expected the issue to be resolved before a trial.
"I feel very confident ... Mr. Ferradino and Interstate Mortgage will be exonerated, hopefully in the form of a dismissal," Lawson said.
An identical indictment had originally been sought against homebuilder and Ferradino associate Edward T. Manley, a partner in the Henderson land deal. Those charges were dropped because of lack of evidence, Dushoff said.
Interstate Mortgage Group Inc. was seized by state regulators in 1999 after losing $5.7 million in collateral.
Lawson said Ferradino had documentation to prove his story, but that it was still in a Las Vegas warehouse following the takeover by a court-appointed receiver.
In 2002, Ferradino was ordered to pay $4.2 million in restitution to 90 investors and placed on five years' probation after pleading guilty to theft. State regulators claimed that at one point Interstate had about $46 million in outstanding loans funded by 1,000 investors.
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