Bank Sues Former Sen. John Ford
AP, August 3, 2005
First Tennessee Bank has sued indicted former state Sen. John Ford, D-Memphis, claiming that he defaulted on three loans and owes more than $59,000.
Ford is one of seven people charged in “Operation Tennessee Waltz,” an undercover FBI legislation-for-pay investigation. In a federal court hearing in May, Ford was shown on videotape apparently pocketing $10,000 in cash from an undercover FBI agent in Ford’s Senate office last year in Nashville. Five of the seven are current or former state lawmakers.
According to the Chancery Court suit, Ford took out a $50,000 loan on Dec. 19, 1996, a $10,000 loan on May 14, 1997, and a $15,000 loan on May 13, 1998.
The loans totaled $75,000, but Ford defaulted on a settlement agreement last June, and as of yesterday, he owes $59,406, plus interest of $726.07 and a late charge of $82.80.
Ford, who resigned his Senate seat after being indicted, could not be reached for comment yesterday. His attorney, Michael Scholl, said he could not comment on the suit because he has not seen it.
The suit does not say what the loans were for.
