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SUMMARY OF RECENT ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS TAKEN

BY THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE’S DIVISION OF SECURITIES

 

 

At the request of media representatives, the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Securities releases a summary list of Division Orders and enforcement actions recently brought by the Division’s Enforcement Section.

 

Before reporting information based on this INFORMATION RELEASE, the Department suggests that reporters request additional detail as to the nature of the Division Order or enforcement action.

 

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For more information, please contact Dennis Ginty at (614) 644-9564 or Bill Teets at (614) 644-7187.

 

 

**INFORMATION RELEASE**

January 1 through January 31, 2001

 

ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

 

 

Order No.	Name of Entity	Date	Type of Order
01-001	Jeffrey David Hibbs CRD No. 2629255 414 North South Street Apt. 1 Wilmington, OH  45177	1/2/01	Cease and Desist Order
01-002	Divot Group C/o Eugene P. Elsass Elsass, Wallace, Evans, Schnelle & Co., L.P.A. 100 South Main Avenue Suite 102, Courtview Center Post Office Box 499 Sidney, Ohio 45365-0499	1/2/01	Suspension of Divot Group Control Bid for Shelby Golf Course Inc.
01-003	Wealth Strategies Inc. 3033 South Kettering Blvd. Suite 300 Dayton, OH  45439	1/4/01	Cease and Desist Order
01-004	Todd Jonathan Russel CRD No. 2402463 7604 Shawnee Lane #229 West Chester, OH  45069	1/4/01	Cease and Desist Order
01-005	Lloyd J. Wilson 802 14th Street Suite “C” Modesto, CA  95354-1029	1/5/01	Cease and Desist Order
01-006	Divot Group C/o Eugene P. Elsass Elsass, Wallace, Evans, Schnelle & Co., L.P.A. 100 South Main Avenue Suite 102, Courtview Center Post Office Box 499 Sidney, Ohio 45365-0499	1/11/01	Termination of Order 01-002
01-007	Brookstreet Securities Corporation 2361 Campus Drive #210 Irvine, CA  92612-1464	1/11/01	Termination of Order 00-151
01-008	Viatical Capital Inc. 1605 Main Street Suite 1109 Sarasota, FL  34236	1/12/01	Notice of Opportunity for Hearing
01-009	Paul O’Connor 4181 New Market Road Hillsboro, OH  45133	1/12/01	Cease and Desist Order
01-010	Janet Keyes 205 Dayton Street Hamilton, OH  45011	1/12/01	Notice of Opportunity for Hearing
01-011	Sun Broadcasting Systems Inc. and John Sloan 1000 East Tahquitz Canyon Way Palm Springs, CA  92262	1/12/01	Notice of Opportunity for Hearing
01-012	Donald Erwin Jones CRD No. 870822 7896 Hosbrook Road Apt. 30 Cincinnati, OH  45243	1/16/01	Cease and Desist Order
01-013	James Minter Turner CRD No. 2202240 918 Ridgelawn Avenue Hamilton, OH  45013	1/17/01	Cease and Desist Order
01-014	Jeffrey Jay Gollehon CRD No. 1212338 7444 Chillicothe Road Mentor, OH  44060 and 15 Sandpiper Drive Whispering Pines, NC  28327	1/19/01	Notice of Opportunity for Hearing
01-015	Millennicom Inc. and Walter W. Knitter 1755 South Naperville Road Suite 100 Wheaton, IL  60187	1/19/01	Notice of Opportunity for Hearing,
01-016	Cable Fund XXVII Limited Partnership 5151 Reed Road Suite 106A Columbus, OH  43220	1/19/01	Notice of Opportunity for Hearing
01-017	Blackstone Financial Services Corporation 11550 North Meridian Street Suite 180 Carmel, IN  46032; and Joseph E. Devlin 15865 River Birch Road Westfield, IN  46074	1/23/01	Cease and Desist Order
01-018	Epifanio Almodovar Jr. 503 Nassau Avenue Freeport, NY  11520	1/23/01	Termination of Order 00-442
01-019	John Bernard Flanagan CRD No. 2138496 196 theodore Druve Coram, NY  11727	1/23/01	Termination of Order 00-466
01-020	James P. Arndts CRD No. 1037280 860 Lincolnshire Drive Troy, OH  45373	1/24/01	Cease and Desist Order
01-021	Ronald S. Leichman CRD No. 1293147 1160 Bessinger Road Hamilton, OH  45012	1/24/01	Cease and Desist Order
01-022	First Associated Securities Group Inc. CRD No. 20597 430 Braodway Chico, CA  95928	1/24/01	Cease and Desist Order
01-023	Joseph E. Walker 64 Orchard Avenue Sabina, OH  45169	1/25/01	Cease and Desist Order
01-024	Eric V. Bartoli 71 School Street Littleton, NH  03561	1/25/01	Cease and Desist Order
01-025	Herbert L. Osborne 25 East 93rd Street New York, NY  10128	1/26/01	Cease and Desist Order
01-026	Ronald L. Wackler CRD No. 1560590 383 North Westin Road Troy, OH  45373	1/26/01	Cease and Desist Order
01-027	John W. Taylor CRD No. 2767046 6009 Black Oak Drive Toledo, OH  43615	1/26/01	Notice of Opportunity for Hearing
01-028	Jenni Elaine Buys CRD No. 2301226 2900 First Avenue Suite #185 Corona Del Mar, CA  92625	1/28/01	Cease and Desist Order

 

Criminal Activity

 

On November 30, 2000, John Krishak pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Tampa to one count of conspiracy in connection with his role in pitching the Greater Ministries International money-doubling financial program to investors.  Krishak was one of seven individuals indicted in March 1999 on charges involving conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering.  One other elder, James Chambers, entered a plea on November 2, 2000.  The trial for the remaining defendants began on January 22, 2001.

 

On January 8, 2001, Donald Wayne Owens, William E. Thurman II, Peggy A. Hilty-Kaufman, and Matthew Painter were indicted on felony securities charges relating to sales of promissory notes of Tee to Green Golf Parks, a golf practice business located in Buffalo, New York.  Owens was charged with 8 counts of the sale of unregistered securities and 7 counts of unlicensed sales; Thurman was charged with 9 counts each of the sale of unregistered securities and unlicensed sales; Hilty-Kaufman was charged with one count each of the sale of unregistered securities and unlicensed sales; and Painter was charged with 3 counts of the sale of unregistered securities and 2 counts of unlicensed sales.

 

On January 12, 2001, Jeffrey A. Parker, Frank Greulich, and Anthony P. Perry were each charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of securities fraud, and one count of mail fraud in U.S. District Court in Cleveland, Ohio.  Parker, Greulich, and Perry all entered guilty pleas on January 25, 2000, and agreed to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney’s investigation of other parties involved in a $41 million ponzi scheme run by Andrew P. Bodnar from 1994 to 1998.  Sentencing is to occur in April 2001.

 

Gerald Delmar Lach was indicted in Clermont County on January 25, 2001, on one count of selling unregistered securities, two counts of false representations in the sale of securities, and one count of fraudulent activity in the sale of securities.  Lach was previously indicted on August 30, 2000, on 55 felony counts in connection with sales of securities in several companies that he owned or controlled including Cincinnati Regional Initiative Inc., Midwest Regional Authority, Community Concerned Citizens Inc., and Storehouse Malachai 3:10 Inc.  The four counts were added after authorities learned that Lach had attempted to sell $200,000 in stock in early January 2001.  Lach is currently in jail and unable to post bail. 

 

On February 2, 2001, Stephen J. Arndts was sentenced in Montgomery County, Ohio after entering guilty pleas in November 2000 to eleven counts of securities law violations.  Arndts is required to serve a 60-day work release program, serve five years probation, and provide a plan to the court to make full restitution to investors of $324,017.33.  The criminal charges against Arndts resulted from sales of promissory notes of World Vision Entertainment and Canko Environmental Technologies to mostly elderly Ohio investors.

 

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