Dayton Man and His Companies Enjoined In $1.1 Million Investor Fraud
Dayton Man and His Companies Enjoined In $1.1 Million Investor Fraud
Dayton, OH – Ohio’s Division of Securities obtained an agreed preliminary and permanent injunction against Wayne T Essex and his group of companies, viz. Essex HR & Associates, Inc.
of Beavercreek, HR Reconciliation, LLC and Essex and Associates, Inc., both of Dayton, according to a civil case update issued by the Ohio Department of Commerce for January 2012.
Essex and his companies are therefore enjoined from selling or offering securities without the court’s prior approval and engaging in any manipulation, fraud or deception. They are further enjoined from making any sale, or an offer to sell securities in contravention of the Ohio Securities Act. The injunction was issued January 31, 2012, by Judge Mary Wiseman of the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court and followed on the temporary order of restraint issued by her against the same entities in December, 2011.
James Swaim, of Flanagan, Lieberman, Hoffman & Swaim, a Dayton law firm, was appointed by Judge Wiseman as receiver responsible for recovering assets from Essex and his companies, to be distributed as per the court’s directions.
The Division of Securities proceeded against Essex upon receiving complaints that he had sold promissory notes in the Dayton Small Business Capital Fund to investors with the objective of investing the proceeds in small businesses in the Dayton area, but the Fund never invested or paid loans to these businesses, the State charged. The State further charged that twenty investors fell victim to the fraud and invested about $1.1 million during the period July 6, 2010 through November 23, 2011.
During investigations the Division found that Essex had indulged in securities fraud, was not licensed to sell securities and had sold unregistered securities, according to the State. The State also charged that Essex used the investors’ funds for his own business and personal lifestyle expenses such as travel outside the state. Essex failed to inform investors that he was unlicensed and that the securities were unregistered; he also made false assurances that the investments were guaranteed and would earn annual returns of between five to 10 percent with higher returns accruing to larger investors, according to the State.
