May 14, 2013
IBJ StaffMichael Russell, 54, pleaded guilty in January to 20 counts of wire fraud and money laundering in a scheme involving former
Indianapolis City-County Councilor Paul Bateman.
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April 1, 2013
Associated PressA central Indiana man banned from selling investments faces 10 securities fraud counts for allegedly using shared Christian
beliefs to dupe clients out of more than $580,000.
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February 16, 2013
The legislature is considering a bill that would require intrastate securities offerings to file audited financials, a safeguard
that caused trouble for Fair Finance investors.
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February 1, 2013
Associated PressA central Indiana county commissioner, his wife and members of three other families who lost more than $700,000 they invested
in businesses state officials say were shell companies are suing two men accused of orchestrating the scheme.
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January 25, 2013
Associated PressA Michigan attorney claims in a lawsuit that former Indianapolis prosecutor Carl Brizzi and former Indiana Secretary of State
Todd Rokita used unwarranted charges against her in a cemetery theft scheme to enhance their political reputations.
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January 23, 2013
Scott OlsonFair Finance bankruptcy trustee Brian Bash, charged with recovering funds for Fair investors, alleges in a court filing that
National Lampoon funded convicted Ponzi schemer Tim Durham's defense. Durham is a former CEO of the film company.
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January 23, 2013
J.K. WallPaul C. Bateman Jr., a former Democrat city-county councilor, agreed to plead guilty Wednesday to 13 counts of money laundering
and wire fraud for his part in defrauding an Indianapolis physician of $1.7 million.
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January 17, 2013
Scott OlsonMichael Russell faces between 57 and 71 months in prison for defrauding an Indianapolis investor of $1.7 million. Two associates,
Paul Bateman, a former City-County councilor, and Manuel Gonzalez, have pleaded not guilty and are set for trial Feb. 11.
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December 8, 2012
Greg AndrewsShouldn’t the 5,100 Ohio investors who lost more than $200 million when Fair collapsed have seen Fair’s lofty
interest rates as a red flag?
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December 3, 2012
Scott OlsonLocal criminal defense lawyers who tracked the trial of Tim Durham and his accomplices say chances are slim that they would
prevail on appeal. One said Durham would have a better chance of winning the lottery.
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November 30, 2012
Greg Andrews, Scott Olson, Cory SchoutenFormer Indianapolis businessman Tim Durham was sentenced to 50 years in prison for running a Ponzi scheme that led to the
collapse of Fair Finance, costing thousands of investors $250 million. Accomplices Jim Cochran and Rick Snow received 25 years
and 10 years, respectively.
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November 27, 2012
Scott OlsonSaying their crimes were "as serious as any financial fraud crime ever committed," federal prosecutors re-emphasized Monday
their recommendation that Ponzi schemer Tim Durham and his two accomplices deserve to spend the rest of their lives in prison.
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November 26, 2012
Scott OlsonConvicted Ponzi schemer Tim Durham is requesting a much shorter prison stay than the life sentence federal prosecutors want
him to serve. The convicted Ponzi schemer and two associates are set to be sentenced Friday.
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November 24, 2012
Greg AndrewsThe Ohio Division of Securities allowed Fair Finance to register investment certificates even after the company stopped providing
audited financials and Tim Durham drained more than $100 million from the firm through insider loans.
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October 29, 2012
Associated PressAn Indiana businessman has pleaded guilty to ripping off an Iowa company and duping investors in separate fraud schemes totaling
$2.3 million.
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October 17, 2012
Cory SchoutenThe trustee in the Fair Finance bankruptcy case and his law firm have run up legal bills approaching $9 million, nearly double
the recoveries they've achieved to date for investors victimized by convicted fraudster Tim Durham.
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September 26, 2012
Scott OlsonThe SEC’s complaint accuses three people of committing securities fraud by spending investor funds on luxury automobiles,
a motorcycle, a 30-foot boat, college tuition, home renovations, a wedding and a honeymoon in St. Lucia.
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July 9, 2012
Scott OlsonThe lawsuit accuses convicted money manager Keenan Hauke's former accounting firm of negligence for failing to monitor Hauke's
bank accounts, enabling him to use investor funds for his personal use. Hauke was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison.
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June 25, 2012
Cory SchoutenConvicted Ponzi schemers Tim Durham and James Cochran will be held in a federal prison until sentencing, while accomplice
Rick Snow will be confined under home detention, under an order issued Monday afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jane E. Magnus-Stinson.
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June 21, 2012
Cory SchoutenAn attorney for convicted fraud mastermind Tim Durham vowed Thursday to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary
to prove his client did nothing wrong.
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June 15, 2012
Cory SchoutenThe accounting firm Tim Durham hired to review the Ohio company’s 2003 finances refused to complete an audit because of concerns
about the accuracy of its numbers and the appropriateness of its practices. The FBI raided Fair Finance in November 2009.
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June 15, 2012
Greg Andrews, Mason King, Cory Schouten
A series of government-recorded phone calls have provided some of the most riveting courtroom moments during
the fraud trial of Tim Durham and two co-defendants.
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June 14, 2012
Cory SchoutenThe men who presided over Ohio-based Fair Finance were at their wits end by late 2009. In government-recorded phone calls
and intercepted e-mails introduced as evidence in U.S. District Court this week, they come across as exhausted, angry and
determined.
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June 14, 2012
Cory SchoutenFederal prosecutors in the Tim Durham fraud trial on Wednesday sought to introduce into evidence an IBJ investigative
report from October 2009, but a judge agreed with a defense attorney and denied the request.
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June 13, 2012
Cory Schouten
Donald Russell, a retired deputy sheriff, is among the more than 5,000 clients of Fair Finance who lost big investments
with the Ohio firm. After testifying on Tuesday during the fraud trial for Fair owner Tim Durham, he shared his story with
IBJ.
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You guys have some "interesting" comments to say the least. I hope you will call in and share those opinions starting June 1. I'm looking forward to having you on the air.
For those who let this information strike a nerve, remember that this is still the America that allows the freedom to achieve dreams and goals. Should you really chastise those who are given a perk on a deal that is supported by the consumer (that is until they don't like the deal anymore due to envy) or should the dream of rewards for working be looked at a little closer? I say lets stick to the deal, go to work,earn our keep, shoot for dreams, change our jobs to have that dream or shut up about others achievements ..............while we are still afforded this liberty of America !
Three Magi
Cats out of the bag. The object of the game is to get acquired. That means the company has no idea how to grow beyond a certain point. Email is a 1990s technology. I have laughed at this company since day one. Such a small bit player. If it was anywhere but here, it wouldn't be newsworthy.
Esther, Indy has passed Chicago in the local government corruption arena. Don't downgrade us. We're No. 1 in the Midwest.