William Ballantine, board member of Ballantine Communications Inc., was indicted Wednesday on federal charges of mail fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.
Ballantine grew up in Durango and lives in Kirkland, Wash. He is the son of the late Arthur and Morley Ballantine and shares ownership in Ballantine Communications, which publishes The Durango Herald, Cortez Journal, Dolores Star and the Mancos Times.
According to court documents, Ballantine was indicted on eight counts of mail fraud, five counts of money laundering and two counts of tax evasion. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
Elizabeth Ballantine and Richard Ballantine, publisher of The Durango Herald, said the family had no information about the federal indictment issued in Denver earlier Wednesday, and they could not comment on the validity of the accusations.
“These allegations come as a total surprise,” said Elizabeth Ballantine, also a board member of Ballantine Communications and one of William Ballantine's three siblings.
“Our brother has our total support,” Richard Ballantine said.
William Ballantine, when reached by phone Wednesday evening, said he also was unaware of the indictment and had no comment.
William Ballantine is accused of defrauding the William Ballantine Fund, the National Philanthropic Trust and St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Durango. Court documents accuse William Ballantine of taking $395,000 from a charitable fund in his name in 2008 and 2009. The money in the fund was provided by the Morley C. Ballantine Charitable Lead Trust Agreement, court documents said.
The William Ballantine Fund, which was managed by the National Philanthropic Trust, sent the money to St. Mark's. The documents said Ballantine directed the church to keep $35,000 of that but deposit the remaining $360,000 in his personal bank account. Ballantine told the church that he was in the process of establishing a charity, and the money they transferred to him would be used for charitable purposes, the indictment said. William Ballantine told the National Philanthropic Trust organization the church was the sole recipient of the money, the court documents said. William Ballantine also sent letters to the church impersonating an accountant to add credibility to his actions, the documents said.
A representative for St. Mark's couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.