The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged three senior executives at Akron, Ohio-based Fair Finance Company with running a $230 million Ponzi scheme on more than 5,000 investors, many of them elderly.
The SEC claims Chairman James Cochran, CEO Timothy Durham and CFO Rick Snow took their investors’ money and spent it on themselves. The men bought Fair Finance, which for decades had operated as a privately held consumer company, and turned it into a Ponzi scheme, selling interest-bearing certificates, the SEC says.
The SEC claims that Cochran and Durham “distributed large amounts of money to family members and friends, and misused investor funds to afford mortgages for multiple homes, a $3 million private jet, a $6 million yacht, and classic and exotic cars worth more than $7 million. They also diverted investor money to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in gambling and travel expenses, credit card bills, and country club dues, and to pay for elaborate parties and other forms of entertainment.”
J. Boyd Page, senior partner of Page Perry, observed “an offering of high interest bearing promissory notes is often indicative of a Ponzi scheme. Investors approached about such an investment should proceed with extreme caution.”
Page Perry is an Atlanta-based law firm with over 125 years collective experience representing investors in securities-related litigation and arbitration. While past results are not indicative of future success, Page Perry’s attorneys have recovered over $1,000,000 for clients on more than 40 occasions. Page Perry’s attorneys are actively involved in representing individual and institutional investors in cases involving Ponzi schemes and other investment problems. For further information, please contact us.