Is there another crook in NHRA?
It looks like Top Fuel team owner Mike Ashley has his hands full. A civil complaint filed Tuesday by the Department of Justice in Central Islip, N.Y., against Ideal Mortgage Bankers, Ltd., which does business under the name Lend America, is seeking a court-ordered injunction to prevent the company from making loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration. The complaint also seeks relief against Ashley, Lend America’s Executive Vice President and Chief Business Strategist.
This isn't the first time Ashley has come under scrutiny. In 1996, he plead guilty to charges of mail fraud and was sentenced to probation and fined $30,000 for other mortgage-related deceptions discovered at Liberty Mortgage, a separate company run by his father, Kenneth Ashley.
Tom Abbett, Mike Ashley Racing's Director of Business Development stated "There are two sides to every story. This is what the courts are for. It's not something the race team wants to be involved with necessarily but it's reality.