Atlanta Gay Business Owner Arrested on Federal Charges
Gay businessman Ben Elliott - who left the Atlanta area immediately after the controversial closing of popular gay bar Hoedown’s last year - was arrested Wednesday on federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
Shortly after taking control of the bar when his family became the majority stockholder, Elliott drew the ire of gay patrons who loved the country themed establishment when he replaced it with drag shows and theme nights.
The Southern Voice reported that Bill Elliott was arrested by the Franklin County Tennessee Sheriff’s Department before being transferred to Chattanooga and into the custody of federal authorities.
Southern Voice reported last summer that Elliott faced two federal civil lawsuits and a federal investigation centered on allegations that he used a direct mail business to make multiple unauthorized withdrawals, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, from the bank accounts of car dealerships that had been his clients. A third civil lawsuit, from a company Elliott used to do direct mail work, claimed Elliott owed more than $1 million in unpaid bills.
The 21 counts he has been charged with total some $30 million dollars, but law enforcement officials decline to comment on the case at this time.
In the interest of fairness, I feel obligated to tell my dear readers that Elliot t was very outspoken about these charges, claiming that he was entitled to the money and that the auto dealerships were victimizing him.
Poor guy. I hope he finds himself a nice warm cell mate named Bubba to keep him warm at night. I mean…the guy is sorta cute after all. And criminals need love, too.
source: Southern Voice (www.sovo.com)
February 8th, 2009 at 7:02 am
hey now they are giving this guy a way to get off easy by using him to entrap escorts the coffee county sheriffs department busted atleast 50 people this past weekend at the country inn and suites in Manchester TN using ben as bait because he can pass the provider verification his phone number is 931-691-0677 and they are also using another man in that area named jay his number is 931-273-7166 if you are an escort beware this is a trap they are using this criminal who broke the law to victimize innocent people who are just trying to make a living not hurting anyone