Three Men Charged with Defrauding Thousands of Ohio Investors Out of $200 Million
Federal officials indicted three former executives of Ohio-based Fair Finance Co. last week on charges of operating a Ponzi scheme that authorities say defrauded 5,000 investors out of approximately $200 million ("Feds: Three indicted in $200 million Ponzi scheme," CNN, March 16, 2011). The majority of the investors were from Ohio, particularly the Akron area.
According to the indictment, from Feb. 2005 through Nov. 2009, Timothy M. Durham, James F. Cochran, and Rick D. Snow made false and misleading statements about the financial condition of Fair Finance Co. and the manner in which $200 million of investor money was being used in order to finance other businesses owned by the men and to maintain their personal lifestyles.
Durham, a native of Indiana, was arrested at his home in Los Angeles last week. Snow and Cochran were both arrested in Indianapolis. All three were indicted on one count of securities fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy, according to the article.
"The arrests this morning [Wednesday, March 16] in California and Indiana follow the largest corporate fraud investigation in the history of the FBI in Indiana," said FBI special agent Michael E. Welch, quoted by CNN.
As reported by Jim Mackinnon, Durham was released on a $1 million bond early this week after being held in federal detention in L.A. over the weekend ("Durham to leave L.A. jail on bond, go to Indiana," Ohio.com, March 22, 2011). He has agreed to return to the Midwest and set up residence in Indiana, where he will appear in federal court on or before April 4.
If convicted, each of the men could face up to 20 years in prison for the securities fraud count, five years in prison for the conspiracy count, and 20 years in prison for each of the 10 wire fraud counts.
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Category: General
Labels: Ohio securities fraud
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