A Loudoun County grand jury on Monday indicted a Chantilly man for 10 financial crimes. He is James Robert "Bob" McClendon Jr., 49, of the Sutton Oaks community, and he's slated to stand trial in September.
In October 2004, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office accused him of forging signatures on three, separate promissory notes to receive money from a Loudoun business. As a result of his actions, authorities said he reportedly received a $250,000 loan.
McClendon worked for a Fairfax County company, and his duties included soliciting investors for multiple projects. One venture was the highly anticipated field house that would have been built in a public/private partnership agreement with the Fairfax County Park Authority and located next to the Cub Run Rec Center.
The field house was to contain facilities for a variety of sports — including indoor track and field — plus large-scale events such as conventions and graduations. But last summer, the partnership agreement was dissolved.
The other projects entailed the management of two fields in Herndon used by Northern Virginia youth sports organizations primarily for football, lacrosse and field hockey. In connection with the investment soliciting, said the sheriff's office, McClendon was accused of allegedly "forging other shareholders' names to obtain the money under false pretenses for his own purposes."
FOLLOWING AN investigation, on Oct. 5 the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office charged McClendon with seven counts of forgery and uttering (passing a phony document as valid), three counts of obtaining money by false pretenses and one count of money laundering.
He allegedly received the money from a Virginia Run man who made McClendon — and others guaranteeing his repayment — sign a promissory note. The case is being handled in Loudoun County because McClendon gave the promissory note to the Virginia Run man on the premises of the man's Loudoun County business.
On Jan. 13, in Loudoun County General District Court, all the charges were dropped, except for one count of forgery. McClendon waived his right to a preliminary hearing on this charge, and it was sent to the grand jury.
However, when Loudoun's grand jury met on Monday, March 14, nearly all of the original charges against him were reinstated. He was indicted on three counts of forgery, three counts of uttering (passing a phony document as valid), three counts of obtaining money by false pretenses and one count of money laundering.
McClendon is scheduled for a two-day trial, beginning Sept. 14, in Loudoun County Circuit Court. Forgery and uttering each carry penalties of as much as 10 years in prison.