Recovering Losses caused by Investment Misconduct

Ohio Man Gets 33 Months for Investment Fraud

On Wednesday, Ronald J. Olear, of Mentor, Ohio, received a sentence of 33 months in prison for running an investment scheme that defrauded 30 investors out of approximately $339,000 through the false sale of stock in Athersys, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company ("Mentor man gets 33 months for defrauding investors," The News-Herald, March 17, 2011).

In 2003, Olear was hired by Athersys, Inc. as a building coordinator. Over the next six years, he misrepresented himself to family, friends, and acquaintances as an owner and/or controller of 80,000 shares of company stock. He then knowingly misled various individuals into a fraudulent investment by "selling" them shares of Athersys, Inc. From 2006 to 2009, he also presented investors with altered stock certificates as proof of his "ownership" in the stock. The altered certificates were stolen from a shredder in a secured area of the company's facility.

Olear pled guilty in January after he was indicted on charges of securities fraud and falsification of a tax return. In addition to his prison sentence, he has been ordered to repay the defrauded investors a total of $339,102.

The charges against Olear could have resulted in up to 19 years in prison. As part of his plea agreement, however, he agreed to cooperate with the IRS. Both sides then agreed to recommend a shorter prison sentence.

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