Con Artists Use The Well Respected As Scapegoats

Here is a story about an unlucky man named Ron. Ron never imagined he would require a Cincinnati Criminal Defense attorney. Ron had never met a Cincinnati criminal defense lawyer in his entire life. Ron had been a careful man all his life, cautious in business and careful in personal affairs. Ron was a church going man that helped at a soup kitchen and stopped in at the nursing home. Ron was a trusting person because he was a person who could be trusted. Ron was the perfect mark for a trio of con artists that showed up 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 fraudulent scheme. The con artists specialized in using historical bank notes. They claimed to have access to prime bank notes that could turn a hefty profit. The catch was getting enough money 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 showed official reports and all the documents. These were historical notes discovered in the Philippines and needed 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 government liaisons. Ron agreed to promote the project to his peers and to act as the contact on this unique opportunity.

The con artists organized a meeting in the Bahamas to invite the potential investors and woo them into the plan. By being out of the country they were able to circumvent several U.S. laws concerning investments. Ron unknowingly became the lead figure in a fraudulent scheme. The initial investors were all impressed with the organization and the informative sessions. They invested handsomely, many on the strength of Ron’s reputation. Ron watched his initial investment, modest as it was began to payoff. He became an ardent believer and actively promoted the project.

The con artists had continued to take money in and pay dividends to the early investors using money collected from later investors. After a year of manipulating Ron and another year of milking the investors, the money disappeared along with the three men. As it all unraveled Ron found himself in the the uncomfortable spotlight. The con men had made certain that Ron’s return was substantial and obvious before they left. Ron appeared to have profited greatly at the expense of those who came late to the party. Many people lost homes and families. Ron was being charged with fraud and he was busy trying to repair the damage. His down fall was to trust others to be as honest as he was. Now Ron hopes that he can regain his life and reputation with the help of lawyers.