Defense attorneys representing indicted businessman Tim Durham and two other executives tied to bankrupt Fair Finance Co. could have a hard time convincing a jury to find them innocent. Federal prosecutors won 94.1 percent of their cases in 2009.
Authorities say Fair Finance, led by indicted businessman Tim Durham, owes 5,200 investors $230 million. But they’re likely to recoup just a “teeny-tiny” fraction.
Timothy S. Durham (pictured at far left), James F. Cochran and Rick D. Snow were all arrested on Wednesday following a grand jury indictment.
Beleaguered local businessman Tim Durham and two other executives tied to bankrupt Fair Finance Co. have been indicted on felony charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed a complaint against the men in federal court.
A Terre Haute pharmacist faces a possible 10-year prison sentence if convicted of health care fraud and money laundering in a scheme that netted him more than $3.57 million.
The local distributor of wireless phones has filed suit against Massachusetts-based Emptoris Inc., and is looking to recoup millions of dollars it paid the company in addition to the amount it says it spent trying to fix the problem.
Filching ranges from crude to highly sophisticated, experts say.
Fair Finance Co.’s bankruptcy trustee is getting inquiries from parties interested in buying National Lampoon Inc., the Los Angeles-based comedy business led by embattled Indianapolis businessman Tim Durham.
E-mails filed in bankruptcy court this week show that Fair Finance Co. co-owner Jim Cochran spent money with such abandon that by 2008 he was living off credit cards and imploring CEO Tim Durham to more than double his salary to $1 million.
Prior to Wednesday’s sentencing, the Secretary of State’s securities division said it reached an agreement to liquidate the assets of Dorothy Geisler, including her home on Geist Reservoir.
Fair Finance Co.’s bankruptcy trustee alleges Tim Durham perpetrated a fraud of "shocking proportions,” draining huge sums from the Akron, Ohio, firm for years to mask that his business empire had collapsed.
The loan from Fair Finance Co. to Stephen and Linda Plopper matured in 2006, but the couple has failed to satisfy the debt despite recent demands for payment, the suit alleges.
Trustee Brian Bash and his legal team have yet to publicly implicate anyone who appears to have the cash to substantially reduce the staggering losses.
A 1929 Duesenberg once driven by Elvis Presley garnered the largest price—$1.237 million.
Fair Finance Co.’s bankruptcy trustee scheduled the Friday auction to raise money for creditors of the defunct company, including more than 5,000 Ohio residents who hold more than $200 million in unsecured investment certificates.
Mark Singer, who was convicted of scheming to steal as much as $27 million set aside to maintain the graves of people who had paid in advance for their funerals, has been sentenced to three years in prison.
The case against Jeffrey and Dana Osler is the latest in what is expected to be a string of suits by the trustee against friends and business associates of Tim Durham who took out loans from Fair Finance but made few if any payments.
Sydney "Jack" Williams, founder of Williams Realty Group, recruited dozens of investors, many with Indiana ties, to invest in a Florida business that turned out to be a giant fraud.
The suit accused CEO Gary Wendt, President Bill Shea, Chief Financial Officer Charles Chokel and Chief Accounting Officer Jim Adams of engaging in a “massive and systematic coverup of … actual debts and losses through complex accounting, misleading disclosures, and irregular accounting practices.”
The agreement allows embattled financier Tim Durham to remain on the board of CLST Holdings, but mandates he step down as chairman and not vote on any matter unless doing so would make the board unanimous.
