Scam artist receives 34 years for home-sale scheme
Shela Amos, 57, led victims in Indianapolis to believe they were legitimately purchasing vacant homes that Amos did not actually own.
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Overhaul of sentencing laws heading to governor
The Senate voted 34-15 on Friday in favor of the bill aimed at sending fewer nonviolent offenders to prison.
Fair Finance investors still empty-handed as trustee plows on
Many of the defendants pursued by Brian Bash and his team have few, if any, assets. And those that do have the wherewithal to fight litigation for years.
Four ex-IRS call center workers convicted of fraud
The four individuals received more than $30,000 in jobless benefits while working at an IRS call center in Indianapolis.
Indy controller gets 29 months for bilking Frakes Engineering
Brenda K. Helpling was sentenced Thursday by a federal judge who also ordered her to pay more than $410,000 in restitution to Frakes Engineering. The 52-year-old had pleaded guilty in November to mail fraud.
Sheridan businessman gets 8-year term for fraud
U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett issued the 97-month prison term to Lowell Hancher of Hamilton County. The Sheridan businessman pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud.
Richmond Hill suspect charged with plotting to kill witness
Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry says Mark Leonard tried to arrange to have the witness to the Nov. 10 blast killed for $15,000.
Fishers man faces federal wire fraud charges
A Fishers man has been charged with wire fraud in an alleged scheme to defraud area organizations and businesses of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
White blames Brizzi for his voter fraud conviction
Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White said in court documents Thursday that his attorney didn't mount any defense to protect him from the conviction that forced him from office.
Two local attorneys facing criminal charges
Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry has filed charges against two Indianapolis lawyers following grand jury investigations, his office announced Friday afternoon.
Cost concerns linger for state sentencing overhaul
A plan to overhaul Indiana’s criminal sentencing laws is moving through the Legislature with broad bipartisan support, although some county officials are worried it will shift costs to the local level.
Drywall contractor charged with underpaying employees
An Indianapolis drywall contractor faces criminal charges that he underpaid his employees working on a government housing project, and then falsified documents to cover it up, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday.
Fraud victim files civil suit against ex-councilor
An Indianapolis physician who lost $1.7 million in a fraud scheme orchestrated in part by former Democratic City-County Councilor Paul C. Bateman Jr. has sued Bateman and two associates in Marion Circuit Court. The civil lawsuit comes as a criminal trial stemming from the case begins in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
Jury: Real estate execs Bales, Spencer not guilty of fraud
SOUTH BEND — John M. Bales lifted his crossed hands to his face and began to cry Thursday evening as a federal judge read the same jury verdict on each of 13 fraud counts against the real estate broker and his partner: Not guilty.
Fraud trial for broker Bales begins in South Bend
The federal fraud trial of Indianapolis real estate broker John M. Bales and a partner began Monday morning in South Bend with a jury-selection process that may not have run as smoothly if it took place in central Indiana.
Leader of fraud scheme pleads guilty to 20 counts
Michael 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.
Indiana House panel backs sentencing-laws overhaul
A sweeping plan to overhaul Indiana's criminal sentencing laws cleared its first hurdle in the Legislature on Wednesday with the support of law-enforcement groups that had scuttled similar efforts the past two years.
Ex-office manager to plead guilty to taking $2.1M
The former office manager of a central Indiana manufacturing company will plead guilty to federal charges that she embezzled $2.1 million from the business over a six-year period.
Three suspects charged in Richmond Hill explosion
The Marion County prosecutor says homeowner Monserrate Shirley, her boyfriend, Mark Leonard, and his brother, Bobby Leonard, have been charged with multiple counts of felony murder and arson.
Blood drawn from cop after crash OK for trial
The Indiana Supreme Court on Monday let stand a ruling saying blood was drawn properly from an allegedly intoxicated Indianapolis police officer after a 2010 fatal crash. But the officer's attorney said it's uncertain whether the evidence can be introduced at trial.