$200M investment fraud trial begins in Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis businessman’s trial on charges that he bilked investors out of more than $200 million opened Monday with his attorney telling jurors that prosecutors were misrepresenting his attempts to save the company.

Federal prosecutors say Seymour native Tim Durham, his business partner and his accountant used a Ponzi scheme to bilk about 5,000 mostly elderly investors at the Akron, Ohio-based Fair Finance Co.

Defense attorney John Tompkins said in his opening statement that Durham was try-ing to keep the company alive after the 2008 financial crisis.

“There is no massive scheme,” Tompkins said. “There is a reaction to a panicked situation.”

A court-appointed trustee representing investors in Fair Finance have filed a number of civil lawsuits seeking repayment of money that Durham reportedly gave defendants in those civil suits, including Durham's mother, a Seymour resident, and Girls Inc. of Jackson County.

Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Tribune and watch for updates on TribTown.com.