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Latest Fair suits target Kato Kaelin, playmate, many others

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Fair Finance Co.’s bankruptcy trustee has filed a new barrage of lawsuits against a diverse range of targets, including the rapper Ludacris, former Playboy playmate Jamie Ferrell and former O.J. Simpson confidant Kato Kaelin.

Trustee Brian Bash since early 2010 has been trying to recover funds for investors of Ohio-based Fair, which was led by Indianapolis financier Tim Durham until his financial empire collapsed in late 2009.

The latest suits target Durham friends and business associates, as well as companies and charities, that records list as receiving loans or transfers from the indicted executive or his businesses in recent years. Bash contends the payments were fraudulent transfers that must be repaid because they were made when Durham and his companies were insolvent.

By the end of Friday, Bash had filed 39 lawsuits in just a two-day span. Other notable defendants include former IndyCar team Playa del Racing Inc., Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site Inc. and Henri Najem, who owns the Bella Vita restaurants downtown and on Geist Reservoir. His brother Anthony Najem, who co-founded Fishers-based construction firm Meyer Najem Corp., also is a defendant.

In addition, the trustee sued Michael Durham, Durham’s stepson from his marriage to ex-wife Joan SerVaas. Bash accuses Michael Durham of accepting $49,712 in transfers from Tim Durham.

Michael Durham is the second of Durham's family members to be targeted by Bash. Late last month Bash sued Durham's mother, Mitza Durham of Seymour, accusing her of receiving 58 checks or wire transfers totaling $831,000 from Durham from February 2006 through November 2009.

Another defendant in the new suits is Ricky D. Snow, former chief financial officer of Fair Finance, who is accused of making improper transfers that depleted Fair's assets.

Durham and two business partners, James Cochran and Snow, were arrested in March after being indicted on 12 felony counts, including conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud. They deny wrongdoing.

The new suits are part of Bash's contininuing quest to recover some of the more than $200 million that Fair owes more than 5,000 Ohio investors who purchased unsecured notes from the company.

Bash accuses the Najems of accepting nearly $2 million in transfers from Durham. Henri Najem is a former partner with Durham in several restaurants.

Former playmate Ferrell is accused of accepting $174,415 from Durham. The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site Inc., which oversees the former president's home, received $50,000, court papers allege. The suits say Kaelin received $23,700 and that the Ludacris Foundation Inc., a not-for-profit focused on improving the lives of disadvantaged young people, received $30,000.

Bash alleges Durham looted Fair after buying it in 2002, stripping the business of the financial wherewithal to repay the investors.

For all of IBJ's Durham coverage, click here.

 


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  • Great News
    The Akron Beacon Journal said that they had filed lawsuits for over $1 Billion dollars. Good follow the money!

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  1. City-County Councilor Angela Mansfield and Bob Lutz have a case of wishful thinking.

    They obviously don't really care about the cost.

    They should.

    Extending Federal Benefits to Same-Sex Couples Will Cost $898M, CBO Says

    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/22/extending-federal-benefits-sex-couples-cost-m-cbo-says/

  2. Brett, be careful what you lie about, the truth always comes out.

    "IMS's George Honored: Tony George, Indianapolis Motor Speedway president and chief executive officer, received the inaugural Pioneering and Innovation Award at the Autosport Awards Dec. 5 in London for his leadership in the development of the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) Barrier. George received the award at the annual gala at the Grosvenor House on behalf of the creators of the SAFER Barrier from Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the leader of the Bahrain International Grand Prix circuit. This is the fourth major award that has been presented to honor George and the SAFER Barrier development team. The SAFER Barrier also received the Louis Schwitzer Award, SEMA Motorsports Engineering Award and GM Racing Pioneer Award in 2002. The SAFER Barrier was installed in all four turns of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway a pioneer in safety for drivers, cars and tracks -- in time for the 86th Indianapolis 500 in 2002. It since has been installed at more than a dozen other tracks, and the latest iteration will be installed at the Speedway in the spring.(IMS PR), see more on my Indy Track News page.(12-7-2004)"

    As far as the cart safety team, I cannot find anything on its date of creation. The Delphi Safety team was created in 1996. For some reason there is not much info out there on defunct racing series.

  3. Great article Anthony. Glad IMS is finally being run like a business and not a personal check book to finance the "Vision".

    Things are looking up but 15 years of scorched earth won't be fixed overnight. Unfortunately the TV ratings are still poor and that won't change anytime soon with the brilliant 10 year contract signed under the former regime.

  4. Brett not sure why you wonder what he said in his quote. "''I would like to jump in a time machine, go back to 1995, and tell the owners and Tony George not to split,'' Franchitti said. ''As soon as my time machine is done, I know where I'm going.''"

    Pretty clear, he would love to go back and tell TG and the team owners not to split.

    I am not sure there is anyone who wanted the split, and I don't think there is anyone who would not like to go back and prevent the split. But, as has been discussed ad nauseum, without the split carts management by team owners would have run all of ow racing into bankruptcy. If cart had such a wonderful product, then losing IMS would not have forced it into bankruptcy. If NASCAR lost Daytona or Charlotte, it would not fail like cart did.

    Truth,

    So you predicted that cart would go into bankruptcy and cease to exist while Indycar would continue on? I missed that prediction.

  5. I want to live in a city that has a garage structure to be proud of for it's innovating design!

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