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 Justice
Denied
for Hundreds of
Fraud Victims
By
Michelle Sherwood
KSPR (ABC affliate)
Oct 29, 2007
In
a hidden camera interview set up by Springfield attorney Chris
Stark, you see his paralegal, Cora Hall, confess to stealing
more than a hundred thousand dollars from him.
Stark’s
voice can be heard in the background: “Every time I get
a paycheck, you gave yourself a bonus,” he says.
Then
you see Cora nod her head and say, “I know, I know, I
know.”
Stark
hid the camera in a box of papers on a table. It took him three
years to realize that he was a victim of embezzlement.
He
was glad to bust his employee, but he wanted police to do the
same.
“They
had no desire or interest to investigate this case. Period,” he
said.
Cora
continues during the interview and said, “I can’t
live with myself, and I can't imagine you would want to tolerate
this."
Days
after police received the tape, the department sent Stark a
letter, informing him that because of high case volume and
low manpower, it wouldn't be able to open an investigation.
The letter was generically addressed, "Dear Citizen,” and
that set Stark off.
"I
thought that was outrageous,” he said. It was made more
outrageous due to the fact that I had handed this case to them
on a silver platter."
Eventually,
police opened an investigation, and recently, Cora Hall was
sent to prison for seven years. However, police blame the delayed
justice on another woman.
They
blame Rhonda Bateman, the woman who was in court Monday for
stealing more than a million dollars from the Springfield Municipal
Court.
In
court on Monday, Shawn Williams of the Springfield Police Department
spoke before the judge.
"The
theft greatly impacted the fraud unit ability to service other
victims," said Williams. "Overall, it impacted between
200 and 250 victims that never got their case worked, and they
deserve to have their case worked as well as the city’s."
Even
though it was slightly delayed, Chris Stark got his justice.
However, there are several others awaiting theirs.
Chris stark doesn't believe the Rhonda Bateman case had anything
to do with his delayed justice, and has since, spoken out about
his dissatisfaction about police procedures.
He
says he is completely satisfied with the police officers who
handled his case, but he says the generic letter he received
was unacceptable.
Meanwhile,
police have brought back three part-time investigators to work
on the backlog of cases that, they say, were caused by Rhonda
Bateman.
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Viewers' Choice
Last
month, 20,000 viewers who found this page helpful, also found
the pages below useful.
 For
fraud victims, it is a nightmare beyond belief. WJFA
has numerous pages with example letters showing you how to
work with the credit reporting bureaus to repair your credit
report.
Don't
ever give up is WJFA's battle cry to victims. Take Action is
our help center. Support Group and more
Foreclosures
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 WJFA's
volunteers have a bevy of tips to help you navigate the legal
system. If you don't find it here, the support
group may be able to help.
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