Good Guys Gone Bad – Con Artists Ruin Lives

Here is a story about an unfortunate man named Ron. Ron never thought he would need a Cincinnati criminal defense attorney. Ron had never met a Cincinnati criminal defense lawyer in all his years living outside of town. Ron had been a careful man all his life, cautious in business and careful in relationships. Ron was a church going man that helped at a soup kitchen and visited the infirmed. Ron was a trusting man because he was a man who could be trusted. Ron was the perfect mark for a trio of con artists that met him at a church social.

Ron had benefited from years of hard work and had earned a good reputation as an honest man that traveled in all the right circles. The con artists saw him as the perfect front for their investment scheme. They worked in the prime bank note area of fraud. They claimed to have access to prime bank notes that could offer an amazing return on the dollar. The catch was getting enough capital together, about 10 million, to be able to buy and trade the notes. These guaranteed notes could turn a 20% profit in only a few months. They had all the paper work and all the documents. These were historical notes uncovered in the Philippines and need to be kept quite lest other investors jump on the wagon and try to buy them first.

They sat down with Ron over thirty times, patiently answering all his questions and supplying historical records and participating in international conference calls. Ron agreed to help them get investors together and to act as the lead on this unique opportunity.

The con artists organized an event in the Bahamas to invite the potential investors and woo them into the plan. By being off shore they were able to avoid violating several laws regarding private investment offerings. Ron unknowingly became the lead figure in a major con. The initial investors were all impressed with the organization and the informative sessions. They invested handsomely, many believing a man of integrity like Ron would never lead them astray. Ron saw his initial investment, modest as it was, begin to payoff. He became more confident and actively promoted the investment.

The con artists had continued to take money in and pay dividends to the early investors using a basic fraudulent scheme. After a year of courting Ron and another year of managing the investments, the money disappeared along with the three men. As it all unraveled Ron found himself in the middle of a nightmare. The con men had made certain that Ron’s return was substantial and obvious before they left. Ron looked like he had profited greatly at the expense of those who came late to the party. Many people lost homes and marriages. Ron was being charged with fraud and he was busy trying to sort the mess out and make amends. His biggest crime was to trust others to be as honest as he was. Now Ron hopes the can regain his life and reputation with the help of lawyers.