FuelNation Inc (fka FLNT)

[jmhollen]

Looks like this one could end up being another South Florida "...Waterfront Property..." deal...!!! That's the Florida Gold(brick) Coast's version of ye ol' Brooklyn Bridge scam.

Looks like the developer is now in really deep doodoo with the Broward County authorities...........

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Church files suit in land scheme
By Christy McKerney and Sallie James
Sun-Sentinel
Posted August 17 2002

Christopher Salmonson was an upstanding citizen, one of the flock, entrusted with brokering the land deal that would enable their growing church to take flight.

But Salmonson had an agenda, one that swindled Abundant Life Christian Centre out of $1.67 million, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.

“The church’s dream was to purchase the property free and clear,” said Broward Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright. “They stepped out on faith and believed Salmonson was the man to make their dream come true.”

Salmonson, 36, of Parkland, was being held in lieu of $1.67 million bond in the Broward County Jail on Friday. He faces 13 counts of grand theft in connection with the alleged con and could face life in jail if found guilty on all counts.

Deputies arrested him Thursday outside the headquarters of Fuel Nation, 4121 SW 47th Ave., in Davie, where Salmonson is chief executive officer.

Deputies think Salmonson never intended to sell the property to the church and never disclosed that the real owner of the 10 acres the church wanted to buy next door was actually Banks Coco Inc., not Salmonson’s company, Margate Corner Inc. The church is at 1490 Banks Road in Margate.

Salmonson approached church leaders in 1998 with an idea that would allow the church to buy the property in payments over two years. The church delivered the first check in July 1998, more than two months after Banks Coco Inc. had started foreclose proceedings on Margate Corner.

After making one payment on the property through Margate Corner Inc., which had a contract to buy the land, Salmonson defaulted on the loan and pocketed the money, converting the church’s checks into cashiers’ checks made out to his various corporations, deputies said.

Property records show Salmonson and his wife bought a 4,148-square-foot home in Parkland in 1998. The home is valued at $600,000.

Church leaders discovered the ploy in October 2001, eight months after they delivered their final payment to Salmonson. Banks Coco Inc. sent them a letter saying they’d foreclosed on the land.

“They believed in his ability and believed he could deliver on himself,” Coleman-Wright said of the church’s trust in Salmonson. “And that could be the reason they never researched the title for themselves and realized Banks Coco owned the property.”

Churchgoers had been instructed not to talk about Salmonson or the land deal Friday.

Holland & Knight attorney Robert E. Ferris Jr. represents the church and declined to comment about the case Friday, citing the ongoing criminal investigation.

The church filed a civil suit against Salmonson; Salmonson’s now-defunct company, Margate Corner Inc.; Fuel America LLC, which Salmonson managed; Commercebank, which cashed the checks and converted them to cashiers’ checks; and Hollywood attorney Barton S. Strock, who was supposed to help close. The suit was filed in Broward County Circuit Court in May.

At Abundant Life Christian Centre, a receptionist sat behind a mahogany desk at the end of the chapel’s rose-colored reception room, directing reporters to the church’s attorney.

A Bible placed on a reception table was open to a passage the church alludes to on its sign outside.

The receptionist acknowledged the irony of the passage, which begins, “The thief cometh not, but to steal…” but wouldn’t comment on the case or give her name.

“We’re very saddened,” she said.

With the civil suit ongoing, it’s unclear whether or when the church will get its money back.

“That question still remains: What did he do with the money?” Coleman-Wright said.

Christy McKerney can be reached at [e-mail] or 954-572-2008.

Christopher Salmonson
See larger image
(Broward Sherrif's Office)

Copyright © 2002, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-church081702.story

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Sunny ol' South Florida -- the "...land of the outstretched palm...".

And, ....they sho' 'nuff ain't talkin' 'bout trees, Bubba...!!


Park your Sub at the iHub - Bub; ....the experience might just "...float your boat..." !!