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Michael D. Pitman reports about Butler County, Ohio, politics, county government, countywide issues and Butler County people just like you for Cox Ohio Publishing (including the Hamilton JournalNews, Middletown Journal and several weekly papers in Butler County). He wants your suggestions and questions for more news stories. Leave a comment for him here or e-mail Michael at Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2010 > June > 09
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Dynus’ Carter gets 15 years
A federal judge sentenced the CEO at the middle of the Dynus Corp. bank fraud case and political scandal to 15 years in prison today, June 9.
U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith called former Dynus owner Orlando Carter a “fundamentally dishonest person” motivated by greed.
“It is ironic that Mr. Carter argues that the political figures and financial institutins were victims of their own greed and corruption, as the same is true of him,” Beckwith said.
She said Dynus — which took out a multi-million dollar illicit loan in Butler County’s name with help from a county auditor and others — was a fraud from the start.
Carter himself pleaded for mercy, insisting he was in the dark on the deal while apologizing for the way things ended up. He thanked his family for support, apologized to the roughly 60 employees who lost their jobs and to those who invested in him.
“I’m remorseful for where I am today, however I must say that I maintain my innocence,” he said. “I look forward to the opportunity, at some point in the future I’m praying, to be able to get the whole story out.”
“Had I known what I know today, I probably would have dealth with some things a lot differently,” he said.
Carter was given a couple weeks to say his goodbyes and turn himself over to prison officials. His defense attorneys immediately filed a motion to let him out on bond while his appeal proceeds.
Beckwith also ordered Carter to pay part of roughly $4 million in restitution to Fifth Third Bank and more than $800,000 to the mortgage company that gave him a loan for his $1.2 million Maineville mansion — which a jury found he secured with false tax forms.
He was ordered to pay $1,100 in assessments to the court, but Beckwith waived any fine, saying it’s unlikely he’ll even be able to pay the restitution.
Beckwith said she was moved by the testimony of Ross Love, a prominent black Cincinnati businessman who invested in Dynus and guaranteed lines of credit, ultimately costing Love roughly $2.5 million.
“I have to characterize him as an individual who is frankly very self-centered,” Love said. “He cares about himself, and is willing to do things that hurt other people, and hurt them badly.”
In addition to costing him money, Love said Carter diminished Love’s abilitiy to invest in other local businesses, donate to charity. He said it impacted the trust financial institutions have in the African American business community.
Those pleading for mercy in the case included Carter’s fiancé, pastor, and other members of the religious community.
They said Carter showed “character” throughout the trial, and talked of his devotion to his family, including his two children.
“My plea to you and to the court today….is to have mercy upon Orlando Carter because there is a greater consequence, and that consesquence is on his children,” said the Rev. Eric White, Carter’s pastor.
Those watching included members of the Baptist Ministers Conference of Greater Cincinnati, which expressed concerns about the fairness of the trial, and an under-representation of African Americans on the jury.
“It seems like a lot of information was left out of the trial,” said Dock Foster Sr., president of the conference.
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TweetJudge: Dynus owner lied on stand
A prison sentence is “appropriate” for former Dynus Corp. owner Orlando Carter, according to U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith, and the duration of that sentence is being determined today, June 9.
Beckwith denied a motion from Carter’s defense attorneys for a delay in the sentencing to better nail down the loss his company was responsible for in fraudulent loans and lines of credit totaling more than $10 million.
Defense attorney Wende Cross said the motion was not an attempted delay, but “an effort to get a proper calculation of the loss, and that’s it.”
“The government sees this motion for continuance as an 11th hour attempt once again to delay a foregone conclusion that Mr. Carter is going to jail for a very long time, and he should,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Barry.
Beckwith sided with Barry, saying “eventually a day of reckoning has to come.”
The sentencing is continuing today, with both sides preparing to call witnesses.
Federal prosecutors are asking for more than 15 years behind bars for Carter’s role. Carter was found guilty in August 2009 on 11 felony charges for his part in a scheme that cost two banks more than $10 million, caused his company’s 2005 collapse and ignited political scandal in Butler County.
Prosecutors are asking for the maximum penalty of 188 months in prison and restitution totaling more than $4.8 million, the total recoverable loss calculated by the court.
Factors in this are allegations that Carter threatened the parents of former Dynus president Jim Smith with a lawsuit after Smith testified against him at trial, and that he made false statements on the stand.
Carter admitted to contacting Smith’s parents, according to Beckwith, but denied threatening them. The judge said she could think of no other reason he would be calling them.
As for the other matter, the judge said Carter committed perjury several times during trial. “I sat through the trial. Mr. Carter in my opinion did make a number of false or misleading statements and did testify inaccurately at trial,” Beckwith said.
While dipping into company coffers to fund his excesses, a jury found Carter played an active role in Dynus taking out $6.5 million in illicit loans from National City Bank in Butler County’s name — with help from local politicos — then using that fake deal to secure a line of credit with Fifth Third Bank.
“The defendant’s duplicity proved treacherous for everyone who trusted him,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Barry in a presentencing report arguing for Carter to get 188 months imprisonment.
“The 60 Dynus employees, who believed that Carter’s vision … was based on a legitimate business plan, lost their jobs because of the defendant’s unadulterated greed, which included a million dollar mansion, a Bengals suite at the 50-yard-line, luxury vehicles, luxury vacations, a luxury lifestyle,” Barry wrote.
He also had company employees make a fake W-2 to inflate his income so he could buy a $1.2 million Maineville mansion, and lied during bankruptcy proceedings.
Carter’s defense team filed for a delay in the sentencing Monday, June 7. They argue that there are unanswered questions that could affect his restitution. This includes whether Fifth Third Bank received any money from the sale of the Dynus building, worth $5 million in 2005.
Carter was the only one charged in the scandal to fight the charges. Former county auditor Kay Rogers, former company president Jim Smith and former employee Karin Verbruggen all pleaded guilty.
Verbruggen, the only one sentenced so far, was ordered to repay Fifth Third nearly $4.1 million, jointly with Carter and Smith.
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TweetCarter sentencing proceeding
U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith has denied Orlando Carter’s defense attorneys’ motion for a continuance in his sentencing. Sentencing is proceeding.
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TweetAt sentencing hearing for Dynus’ Carter
I’m in federal court right now. The sentencing hearing for former Dynus owner Orlando Carter is about to begin. Here is background from the story in today’s paper:
A federal judge may decide today, June 9, whether to side with federal prosecutors and sentence former Dynus Corp. owner Orlando Carter to more than 15 years behind bars.
Or maybe not. Carter’s defense attorneys are requesting another continuance in the trial, which will be considered today by U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith.
Carter was found guilty in August 2009 on 11 felony charges for his part in a scheme that cost two banks more than $10 million, caused his company’s 2005 collapse and ignited political scandal in Butler County.
“The defendant’s duplicity proved treacherous for everyone who trusted him,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Barry in a presentencing report arguing for Carter to get 188 months imprisonment.
“The 60 Dynus employees, who believed that Carter’s vision … was based on a legitimate business plan, lost their jobs because of the defendant’s unadulterated greed, which included a million dollar mansion, a Bengals suite at the 50-yard-line, luxury vehicles, luxury vacations, a luxury lifestyle,” Barry wrote.
While dipping into company coffers to fund his excesses, a jury found Carter played an active role in Dynus taking out $6.5 million in illicit loans from National City Bank in Butler County’s name — with help from local politicos — then using that fake deal to secure a line of credit with Fifth Third Bank.
He also had company employees make a fake W-2 to inflate his income so he could buy a $1.2 million Maineville mansion, and lied during bankruptcy proceedings.
Carter’s defense team filed for a delay in the sentencing Monday, June 7. They argue that there are unanswered questions that could affect his restitution. This includes whether Fifth Third Bank received any money from the sale of the Dynus building, worth $5 million in 2005.
“This motion … is not requested for delay, but for judicial economy and to aid this court in determining a sufficient but not greater than necessary sentence,” the motion reads.
Carter was the only one charged in the scandal to fight the charges. Former county auditor Kay Rogers, former company president Jim Smith and former employee Karin Verbruggen all pleaded guilty.
Verbruggen, the only one sentenced so far, was ordered to repay Fifth Third nearly $4.1 million, jointly with Carter and Smith.
Do you think 15 years is fair?
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