Ballance completes federal sentence
Still faces two years of probation

by Daily Herald Staff Report
Published/Last Modified on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 3:52 PM EDT

RALEIGH — The man who represented the Roanoke Valley at the state capitol and in the halls of Congress will be released from federal custody today, according to published reports.

Frank Ballance

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Former Congressman Frank Ballance has spent the past four years in custody following his decision to plead guilty to using a nonprofit substance abuse foundation he founded to divert taxpayer money to his family, law firm and church.

Prosecutors argued that Ballance funnelled $2.3 million in state money through the Hyman Foundation and not all of it went to fight substance abuse.

He was released from prison earlier this year and has been at a halfway house, according to published reports. WRAL-TV reports Ballance was to be released from custody today.

As part of his sentence, Ballance agreed to repay about $62,000 and to forfeit $203,000 in a bank escrow account for the foundation.

The former congressman has maintained his innocence. He said he regretted his guilty plea and it came only because he wanted to save the career of his son, Garey Ballance, who was a judge at the time.

Garey Ballance served eight months in prison for misdemeanor failing to report $20,000 in income from the foundation on a federal tax return. He was also disbarred until 2010.

Ballance said he also sought to ease the pressure from prosecutors on his mother questioning her role, if any, in her son’s activities.

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