Former Braves testify in Fulton County real estate scam case

<p>Former Atlanta Braves John Rocker and Mark Lemke appeared in a Fulton County courtroom Tuesday to testify against a real estate investor accused of bilking them out of more than half a million dollars.</p><p>Jason Woodward was charged with four counts of theft by deception and one count of deposit account fraud. Fulton County Judge Antone Allison turned Woodwards case over to the grand jury and put him in custody on a $125,000 bond.</p><p>Rocker and Lemke were two of five plaintiffs who invested in Fulton County real estate through Woodward, who allegedly pocketed more than $2 million from the scam. Rocker lost $175,000 and Lemke lost $408,000.</p><p>Woodward allegedly told the men he had bought property for them but never produced deeds, paperwork or receipts.</p><p>The plaintiffs said they never saw proof of purchase for specific properties Woodward supposedly had purchased for them.</p><p>I kept asking for a deed and he never provided one, Rocker said after the proceedings. Everybody has tried a dozen times to get this settled, to get our money back. He has been lying to us for a year and a half.</p><p>Rocker was released June 27 by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, his third team since the Braves traded him in 2001. The fiery pitcher became the center of controversy in 1999 when he made derogatory comments in Sports Illustrated about gays and minorities.</p><p>Lemke, a second-baseman, left the Braves in 1997 and played in the minors for a couple years before retiring.</p>