John L. Cross indicted, faces trial next month
By DAVID REESE
Lake County Leader
A Polson man will face trial next month for wire fraud for defrauding investors.
John Louis Cross was indicted in December in U.S. District Court in Missoula on two counts of wire fraud while operating 5 Star Finance and Mortgage in Polson. Cross formed 5 Star in January 1999 and ran it as a financial services and investment company. He ran a scheme to defraud investors up until January 2014, court documents say. Cross, through 5 Star and High Yield Return, Inc., solicited money from investors, which he represented would be used for loans backed by real estate. Cross deposited the money he received into bank accounts, and promised his investors he would make regular interest payments at specific rates, and he provided promissory notes to his investors, court records say.
The first count of fraud alleges that Cross initiated an illegal wire transfer from an Arizona man to Cross. The second count alleges that in 2011 Cross, as part of his illegal scheme, wired $10,000 from Lake County Bank to United Bankers Bank in Minnesota.
5 Star Finance and Mortgage also faced charges in Washington. The state of Washington department of financial services accused Cross and his 5 Star Finance and Mortgage with several violations of the state’s mortgage laws, including:
- Unlicensed brokerage
- False statements
- Failure to provide disclosures on residential mortgage loans
- Failure to maintain accurate records
The director of the department of financial services in Washington entered an order against 5 Star for the above charges, and others, and fined the company $18,600.
He was ordered to pay restitution and was prohibited from participating in the mortgage business in Washington for five years.
Cross’s trial will be Sept. 21 at the Russell Smith Courthouse in Missoula.