Durham Committed ‘Fraud of Shocking Proportions,’ Claims Trustee In Lawsuit

Fair Finance’s bankruptcy trustee Brian Bash filed a lawsuit on Feb. 15, accusing disgraced businessman Tim Durham of perpetrating “a fraud of shocking proportions.” The 49-page complaint, which was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Akron, Ohio, goes on to allege that Durham was draining huge sums of money over the past four years to disguise the collapse of Fair Finance.

“Durham fired auditors who became too squeamish and operated [Fair] as a Ponzi scheme, enabling him to loot every last penny,” the lawsuit says.

By the time Durham and Indianapolis businessman Jim Cochran purchasing Fair Finance in 2002, Durham’s Indianapolis-based buyout firm—Obsidian Enterprises—already was effectively bankrupt, the suit states.

As reported Feb. 15 by the Indianapolis Business Journal, the suit alleges that Durham bought Fair Finance to fund Obsidian’s failing businesses and to provide cash for other personal investments.

When Durham’s and Cochran’s purchase of Fair was finalized, the lawsuit claims Durham said “this will be like taking candy from a baby.”

The demise of Fair Finance resulted in huge losses for more than 5,000 investors who financed the company and who are now owed more than $200 million.