|
|
|
Three former executives of Fair Financial Company could go to prison for decades after a federal jury in Indiana found them guilty of defrauding some 5,000 investors — including those in Stark County — of more than $200 million.
The jury returned the verdicts late Wednesday against former CEO Timothy S. Durham, 49; former board chairman James F. Cochran, 56; and former chief financial officer Rick D. Snow, 48, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
Fair investor Daniel Sciury, of Canton, kept track of the eight-day trial through media reports. He said he wouldn’t mind seeing the trio spend the rest of their lives in prison.
“They bilked a lot of people,” said Sciury, who invested more than 80 percent of his life savings, including his pension, with the company. “They ruined a lot of lives.”
Fair Financial had been around for almost 70 years when Durham and Cochran bought it in 2002. Also known as Fair Finance Co., the Akron-based business had an office on Dressler Road NW in Jackson Township.
Federal authorities charged that Durham, Cochran and Snow made “false and misleading” statements about the company’s financial condition while using investors’ money to enrich themselves between February 2005 and November 2009, when the business closed.
Durham and Cochran loaned money to themselves and their associates, as well as personal business ventures, including a car magazine, a surgery center, a race car team, Internet companies and a manufacturer of replica vintage cars, according to court papers.
Some of those businesses failed, others were propped up by continued loans from Fair.
When independent accountants raised concerns about Fair’s loans, Durham, Cochran and Snow fired them and concealed the company’s true financial state from investors, according to authorities.
All three were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, securities fraud and wire fraud.
Conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, while each count of wire fraud and securities fraud carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. Each man also could be fined up to $250,000 for each count of conviction. A sentencing date is pending.
Fair Financial was an honest and solid company before Cochran and Durham took over, said Sciury, who had invested money for retirement but now gets by mostly on Social Security. His job as president of the Hall of Fame Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, pays $100 a month.
He said he hopes the investors are able to recover some of their money. He wasn’t surprised by the jury’s verdict in the criminal case.
“I figured justice would be served,” Sciury said. “The government had a strong case.”
Three former executives of Fair Financial Company could go to prison for decades after a federal jury in Indiana found them guilty of defrauding some 5,000 investors — including those in Stark County — of more than $200 million.
The jury returned the verdicts late Wednesday against former CEO Timothy S. Durham, 49; former board chairman James F. Cochran, 56; and former chief financial officer Rick D. Snow, 48, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
Fair investor Daniel Sciury, of Canton, kept track of the eight-day trial through media reports. He said he wouldn’t mind seeing the trio spend the rest of their lives in prison.
“They bilked a lot of people,” said Sciury, who invested more than 80 percent of his life savings, including his pension, with the company. “They ruined a lot of lives.”
Fair Financial had been around for almost 70 years when Durham and Cochran bought it in 2002. Also known as Fair Finance Co., the Akron-based business had an office on Dressler Road NW in Jackson Township.
Federal authorities charged that Durham, Cochran and Snow made “false and misleading” statements about the company’s financial condition while using investors’ money to enrich themselves between February 2005 and November 2009, when the business closed.
Durham and Cochran loaned money to themselves and their associates, as well as personal business ventures, including a car magazine, a surgery center, a race car team, Internet companies and a manufacturer of replica vintage cars, according to court papers.
Some of those businesses failed, others were propped up by continued loans from Fair.
When independent accountants raised concerns about Fair’s loans, Durham, Cochran and Snow fired them and concealed the company’s true financial state from investors, according to authorities.
All three were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, securities fraud and wire fraud.
Conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, while each count of wire fraud and securities fraud carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. Each man also could be fined up to $250,000 for each count of conviction. A sentencing date is pending.
Fair Financial was an honest and solid company before Cochran and Durham took over, said Sciury, who had invested money for retirement but now gets by mostly on Social Security. His job as president of the Hall of Fame Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, pays $100 a month.
He said he hopes the investors are able to recover some of their money. He wasn’t surprised by the jury’s verdict in the criminal case.
“I figured justice would be served,” Sciury said. “The government had a strong case.”
