Centerville Businessman Gets Nabbed For Securities Fraud
Centerville Businessman Gets Nabbed For Securities Fraud
The Ohio Department of Commerce has brought charges of securities fraud against Wayne T.Essex and his three 
companies – HR Reconciliation LLC, Essex HR & Associates Inc. and Essex and Associates Inc.
The complaint also has resulted in Essex and his companies being barred from selling (in any form) securities and interacting with investors. They have also been prohibited from engaging in any kind of deceptive or manipulative and fraudulent acts.
The agreed upon preliminary and permanent injunction was approved between Wayne T. Essex and his companies and the Division of Securities in Beavercreek. The restraining order was passed by Judge Mary Wiseman. Local attorney James Swaim has been appointed as receiver for recovering the businessman’s business assets and hold them for distribution as the court deems fit.
Essex was accused of selling securities despite not having license to do so. They also sold unregistered securities and committing securities fraud. Essex sold promissory notes in the Dayton Small Business Capital Fund. Investors were assured of the funds being used in small businesses in the Dayton area.
20 investors bought his stories and invested around $1.1 million in the fraudulent investment scheme. The investors were not given any information to the fact that the securities they were investing in were unregistered.
Not a penny of that money went into any business, according to the complaint. Instead, the money got spent on his opulent lifestyle and extensive travel He also mixed up the money raised from the investors into his business funds. The fraudulent scheme lasted between 6th of July 2010 and 23rd November 2011.
Essex maintains that the company had already embarked upon liquidation efforts and avers that a majority of the investors had already received their initial investments and the full amount of interest promised. Essex also says he is disappointed at the actions taken by the commerce department and maintains that he was well on his way to ensuring that all investors would have been paid the investment and interest in due course of time.
Investors were promised guarantee of their funds and they would get annual returns of 5%, 7% and 10% depending on amounts of investment.
