The Clarke County Attorney is accused of taking out two mortgages on a home in Ankeny and falsely claiming he intended to make the house his primary residence.
Clarke County Attorney Ronald Lee Wheeler of Osceola is accused of making false statements to a bank. Wheeler, who is 68, entered a plea of “not guilty” today in federal court. His trial is scheduled to start at the end of June.
Prosecutors charge Wheeler was a “straw buyer” for a home in Ankeny. He allegedly applied for and received two separate mortgages for the propery and claimed he planned to make the property his primary residence. The indictment also claims Wheeler made false statement on the loan application about his assets and annual income.
Wheeler was elected Clarke County Attorney in 2006. If he’s convicted on the fraud charges, he could be fined up to a million dollars and sent to a federal prison for up to 30 years.
A second man who owns a company called “International Acquisitions, Incorporated,” has also been indicted in the case. He’s scheduled to make his initial appearance in court within the next several weeks and that’s when the other man will enter a plea.