Articles

Families sue to recover lost investments

A 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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Michigan lawyer claims Indiana prosecution was political

A 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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Lampoon paid for Durham’s defense, trustee alleges

Fair 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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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.

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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.

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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.

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Durham asks court for five-year sentence

Convicted 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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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.

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Judge orders Durham, Cochran jailed until sentencing

Convicted 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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