Former country club controller gets 2 years for fraud
Officials say Denise Abrell defrauded the Country Club of Indianapolis of $400,000 by writing checks to herself and using the club's credit card without its knowledge.
Fraud
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Trustee settles for $3.5M with former Fair Finance owner
Donald R. Fair, the former owner of Fair Finance Co. who sold the business to fraudsters Tim Durham and James Cochran, agreed to the settlement Thursday.
Durham gets 50 years for fraud scheme
Former 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.
Fraud victims detail losses before Durham’s sentencing
A 74-year-old former nun who cares for young children to earn a living after being swindled out of her life savings and a woman whose father lost $170,000 in proceeds from the sale of his farm testified against Tim Durham and his two fraud accomplices Friday morning.
Prosecutors: Durham, accomplices deserve life sentences
Saying 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.
Much of trustee’s suit against Fair Finance lenders dismissed
Fair Finance Co.'s investors have been dealt a blow by a federal judge who dismissed a bankrutpcy trustee's lawsuit against one of the company’s deep-pocketed lenders.
Investor accused of defrauding burned-down church
Federal prosecutors have filed fraud charges against an investor who they say misspent nearly $400,000 that leaders of an Indianapolis church gave him as it tried to raise more money to rebuild from a fire.
Durham lawyer balks at proposed 225-year sentence
The attorney for convicted Ponzi schemer Tim Durham argues that the presentencing report miscalculates the losses suffered by investors, includes a range of allegations that weren’t proven at trial and blames his client for events outside his control.
Legal fees nearing $9M in Fair Finance bankruptcy
The 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.
Ex-Countrymark CEO denied early prison release
David Swanson had argued that his lawyers were derelict in not seeking a mistrial stemming from his 2002 conviction on wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion charges. A federal appeals court on Wednesday affirmed his 12-year sentence.
Former Durham exec ordered to pay $30,000
Former Obsidian Enterprises Inc. President Terry Whitesell will pay the amount as part of a settlement agreement. A bankruptcy trustee representing investors of Fair Finance Co., owned by convicted financier Tim Durham, had sought more than $225,000 from Whitesell.
Don Marsh fighting to keep jury from learning he took Fifth
Attorneys for Don Marsh are trying to ensure that his refusal to answer questions during a 2010 deposition doesn’t come back to haunt him when Marsh Supermarkets' lawsuit against him goes to trial in October.
Local attorney facing fraud charges released from jail
Lawyer William F. Conour had been held in a Decatur County Jail since July 25 on a contempt of court charge until a judge on Monday ordered his release. Conour is accused of defrauding clients of $2.5 million.
Local attorney facing fraud charges resigns from bar
High-profile Indianapolis attorney William F. Conour, 65, who is accused of misappropriating $2.5 million in client funds, has relinquished his law license to the Indiana bar.
Durham, 1 partner to be jailed until sentencing
A federal judge has ordered an Indiana financier and a business partner jailed until they are sentenced for swindling investors out of $200 million.
Durham, Fair Finance partners face detention hearing
A federal judge will hear evidence on whether Tim Durham, Jim Cochran and Rick Snow should be kept in jail until they are sentenced.
Outlook improves for Fair Finance investors
A New York firm is contacting Fair Finance Co. investors seeking to purchase their bankruptcy claims—a sign of growing optimism that investors in the defunct business will secure a sizable recovery.
Durham attorney vows to appeal guilty verdict
An 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.
Jury begins deliberations in Durham fraud trial
The jury began deliberations Wednesday morning in the federal fraud trial of financier Tim Durham and two co-defendants.
Durham trial closing arguments provide clashing accounts
The prosecution described Tim Durham as "the mastermind" of a Ponzi scheme, while partner Jim Cochran acted as the front man who lied "to people's faces," and Chief Financial Officer Rick Snow served as the "backroom numbers guy."