Reporter
Real estate, retail

Property Lines
real estate blog moderator

Schouten joined IBJ as a reporter in 2006 after stints at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Arizona Republic. He covered education in Arizona and politics and hurricanes in Florida. A graduate of Southport High School and Indiana University, Schouten hosts a real estate blog on IBJ.com that twice has been named the nation’s best among business journals by the Alliance of Area Business Publications. Schouten also has been honored for his body of work at IBJ. Outside the office, he serves on the community relations board for Noble of Indiana and mentors youth through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana.

Phone:
(317) 472-5370

Follow Cory on Twitter: www.twitter.com/propertylines

Former Marion County deputy prosecutor agrees to plead guilty to bribery

May 13, 2013

The top deputy under former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge for his role in the early release of a woman convicted in a murder-for-hire scheme.

Fraud victim files civil suit against ex-councilor

February 11, 2013

An Indianapolis physician who lost $1.7 million in a fraud scheme orchestrated in part by former Democratic City-County Councilor Paul C. Bateman Jr. has sued Bateman and two associates in Marion Circuit Court.

Jury: Real estate execs Bales, Spencer not guilty of fraud

February 8, 2013

John M. Bales lifted his crossed hands to his face and began to cry Thursday evening as a federal judge read the same jury verdict on each of 13 fraud counts against the real estate broker and his partner: Not guilty.

Bales trial in jury's hands after colorful closings

February 7, 2013

The jury began deliberations Thursday in the federal fraud trial of Indianapolis real estate broker John M. Bales and partner William E. Spencer after three hours of spirited closing arguments Wednesday.

Defense rests in Bales trial after flurry of witnesses

February 6, 2013

Closing arguments are expected to begin Wednesday afternoon in the federal fraud trial of Indianapolis real estate broker John M. Bales and partner William E. Spencer after the defense raced through seven witnesses Tuesday and early Wednesday.

Defense attorneys turn tough in Bales trial

February 1, 2013

The legal team representing real estate broker John M. Bales and partner William E. Spencer haven't called their first witness and already they're putting up a spirited fight as federal prosecutors seek to prove charges including bank, mail and wire fraud.

Former Venture employee turns on Bales during testimony

January 31, 2013

An FBI investigation into Venture Real Estate Services and principals John Bales and Bill Spencer had already begun when Matthew Dyer signed on as the company's controller in December 2009.

Defense attorneys in Bales case trash former co-defendant

January 30, 2013

Indianapolis attorney and developer Paul J. Page is no longer a co-defendant in the fraud trial of real estate broker John M. Bales and a partner after agreeing to a plea deal, but you wouldn't know it from the action Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.

Bales defense: Elkhart deal was a 'scheme to help'

January 29, 2013

Facing a looming deadline to find suitable office space for the state Department of Child Services and the prospect that abused or neglected children in Elkhart County could go without services, real estate broker John M. Bales and partner Bill Spencer in 2008 dipped into their own pockets to help close a difficult lease deal, their defense attorneys contend.

Fraud trial for broker Bales begins in South Bend

January 28, 2013

The federal fraud trial of Indianapolis real estate broker John M. Bales and a partner began Monday morning in South Bend with a jury-selection process that may not have run as smoothly if it took place in central Indiana.