Llewellyns Explain Delay in Acquiring Legal Counsel Due to Unresolved Home Damage Claim Impact on Loan Acquisition

On Tuesday morning, October 15, after being informed of complications regarding acquiring the financing to pay for legal representation in the multiple financial cases brought against them, Judge Daryl L. Funk set another hearing date of November 12 on the 9 a.m. docket in the cases of Ron and Corinne Llewellyn. While the Llewellyns asked for more time than that due to delays in acquiring an insurance assessment on weather-related damages to the couple’s Rose Hill estate home from USAA, Judge Funk seemed determined to keep the cases moving forward in a more timely manner.

Ron explained that the damage incurred to an older portion of the main Rose Hill residence from a tree being downed by the weather on August 9, had prevented the couple from acquiring a loan to pay for legal counsel. And while the couple has narrowed their choices of attorneys down, as was pointed out in an earlier hearing due to the nature of the charges the couple will require separate attorneys to represent each of them.

Corinne and Ron Llewellyn at home prior to the weather incident that brought a tree down on a portion of their Rose Hill home on Aug. 9. Delays in getting an insurance estimate to allow completion of repairs has limited the couple’s ability to get a loan to cover legal expenses. Royal Examiner File Photo Roger Bianchini

Ron also explained that the couple’s assets are concentrated in their real estate holdings, the Rose Hill home property, and largely some investment real estate, which Ron is involved with in partnerships. The couples’ available cash at hand is limited and not adequate to cover the necessary dual legal costs, they explained.

In response to a question from the judge, Ron estimated the investment real estate value at over a million dollars, but observed it was not directly accessible due to the partnership nature of the investment group.

In setting the November 12 hearing date, Judge Funk suggested that Ron Llewellyn set up the sale of a portion of his investment properties to fund the acquisition of the couple’s legal counsel, even if that sale didn’t realize the optimum potential value of that portion of the property. The court also responded negatively to Corinne’s observation that she had gotten an estimate of six months on the financial dominoes falling into place, allowing a loan to be achieved to enable the acquisition of attorneys.

“That can’t happen,” the judge responded of an extended delay in movement toward trial. He suggested the Llewellyns get attorneys in place for the November 12 hearing date or face the possibility of representing themselves in proceeding toward trial, not an ideal situation, the court observed.

As previously reported the former Warren County supervisor and EDA board member and his wife were charged on multiple indictments regarding the movement over a number of years of money from Corinne’s mother, Mrs. Jane White, who for an extended period of time lived with the Llewellyn’s on the family’s Rose Hill Estate in Front Royal. Ron faces a total of 55 counts, Corinne 28 counts, dating to financial transactions back over a decade.

The criminal investigation appears to have been fueled by civil litigations brought by Corinne’s sister and brother filed several years ago in Frederick County, where the siblings’ mother was moved some time ago into an Assisted Living facility. A number of those civil cases were either non-suited by the complainant or settled out of court, with a few being determined by judicial rulings. As previously reported, according to Ron, the bulk of those civil case judicial rulings were made in favor of him and his wife. One that wasn’t is on appeal in the Virginia Appeals Court system, he noted.

Charges against the couple brought by direct indictment out of Warren County include Larceny Embezzlement (over $200 felony); Money Laundering – Conduct a Financial Transaction with Proceeds from Felony Activity. Ron has also been charged with forgery regarding the allegations.

So, having adequate legal representation in place would seem crucial as both Ron and Corinne Llewellyn appear determined to assert their innocence at trial.