For the past several years, Clayton Morris and Bert Whalen teamed up to sell out-of-state investors hundreds of what were presented as "turn-key" rental properties in Indianapolis. But the pair parted ways last year amid a flurry of investor complaints and lawsuits.
Here's a look at the former partners:
Clayton Benjamin Morris
Clayton Morris, 42, of Florham Park, N.J., is a former co-host of "Fox & Friends" who now runs Morris Invest. His website says: "We find, fix, fill and manage great properties while you see amazing returns on your investment."
Agraduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Morris was a weekend co-host of the popular Fox network news and entertainment program from 2008-2017. Before that, Morris appeared on the "Daily Buzz" and "Good Day Philadelphia."
His background also includes a couple of odd side gigs, according to his IMDb page.
Morris played a reporter named Clayton Benjamin Morris in the 2000 film "Deception," a low-budget thriller about a B-movie director fighting to finish a film, save his marriage and catch a killer. A reviewer called it “pretty bad, even for a straight-to-video thriller.”
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And in 2004Morris was involved in a CHIKARA Pro wrestling event where he appeared under the name Cavalier Jones. The Ultimate Jeopardy Six Man Tag Team Match was filmed at a fire station in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Morris' character was an official of the wrestling league whose fate rested in the hands of a tag team he was backing called the Toxic Trio. When the tag team was defeated, the character portrayed by Morris was forced to leave the organization.
But it was at "Fox & Friends" where Morris became a household name.
Morris’ last day on the show was Sept. 4, 2017. In an emotional goodbye from the show’s ubiquitous “curvy couch,” Morris said he was excited about the next chapter in his life — building on the real estate investing he had begun while on TV.
“I’m going to spend time with family and focus on projects that I’m passionate about: helping people build wealth and passive income and helping empower people,” Morris told viewers. “That’s what I want to spend maybe the next 40 years of my life doing.”
He has spread that message — and pitched his company’s services — on the website morrisinvest.com and a Youtube channel with more than 100,000 subscribers. In his presentations, Morris also plays up his role as a family man, including photographs and videos with his wife and business partner, Natali, and their three young children.
Despite saying his 2017 "Fox & Friends" farewell was likely his last TV appearance, Morris was back on the curvy couch on Dec. 18.
But this time, he was there as a guest, chatting with his former co-workers and getting about five minutes of air time to hawk his new book, “How To Pay Off Your Mortgage In 5 Years.”
During the interview, Morris emphasized the lack of financial education in high schools and the need for Americans to take their financial futures into their own hands. He admitted his own past problems — “I wasn’t good with finance” — including a foreclosure and having his debit card rejected at the Fox canteen.
Later, he suggests using money from a 401(k) — borrowing from “the bank of you” so you’re not paying interest to a lender.
“This is the stuff we weren’t taught in high school, and that’s what I’m doing now,” Morris explained.
A Fox News spokeswoman said the cable news network had “absolutely no knowledge” of the fraud accusations against Morris.
Herbert 'Bert' Francis Whalen
Bert Whalen, 44, has been a longtime fixture in the Indianapolis real estate community as anagent, property manager and investor. He also is a principle in Oceanpointe Investments and Indy Jax, two companies affiliated with Clayton Morris and Morris Invest's real estate deals in Indiana and Florida.
Whalen held an Indiana real estate license since at least 1995, but it was permanently revoked in 2017. That action was affirmed by the Indiana Real Estate Commission on Jan. 24, 2018.
The commission found Whalen violated professional conduct standards because of several criminal convictions, including two DUIs and operating a motorboat while intoxicated. The commission also found Whalen lied about some of those convictionson his license renewal application in 2009 and failed turn over a $650 rental payment to the owner of a property he was managing in 2013.
In an unrelated2011 lawsuit, Whalen was sued in Marion County by Matthew D. Knee over real estate deals, and Knee won a $748,000 default judgment. In that case, Whalen did not comply with contractual terms of a deal that included paying off the mortgages and making repairs. The initial purchase price for the homes was $248,000, but the judgment was tripled because of a finding that Whalen had committed fraud in the deal.
Months after that verdict, on Aug. 13, 2012, Whalen filed for bankruptcy. It was the third time he had filed for bankruptcy since 2002. The two prior filings were dismissed.
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But the 2012 bankruptcy released Whalen from many of his debts. Whalen reported an average monthly income of $1,750 from working as a self-employed property manager for the last six months. “Debtor has not filed tax returns for 2010 and 2011," the filing said, "due to inconsequential income that does not require any filings.”
Whalen reported debt of $2,089,000, including mortgages on a million-dollar, waterfront home at Geist Reservoir; liens on other real estate; a loan on a 1997 Buick Park Avenue; and a judgement on a repossessed jet ski.
He also reported owing the IRS $100,000, along with $21,000 on a 2006 lease for a Mercedes, $14,900 on a repossessed boat and $8,000 in American Express charges.
Since 2016, county property records reveal Whalen, either personally or through entities including Oceanpointe and Indy Jax, has purchased or sold hundreds of homes and lots in Marion County.
Contact IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at 317-444-6081 or tony.cook@indystar.com. Follow him onFacebookor Twitter:@IndyStarTony.
Contact Tim Evans at 317-444-6204 or tim.evans@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @starwatchtim.
