Press Releases & News

A judge in Madison County, Alabama has granted a continuation for the trial scheduled for May in an alleged tomato farming scandal. James Lawhorne is alleged to have defrauded investors of Cypress Creek Organic Farms. The Alabama Securities Commission charged Lawhorne in December claiming that, while going by the alias "Jim Gilley," he conned investors by guaranteeing returns so that they would give him their funds. Judge James Smith granted the continuation on Wednesday until August 10 with the pretrial docket on August 7. As of now, Lawhorne is being held in Madison County Jail after his previous bond was revoked after an escape. He removed his ankle monitor in January and fled to Lake Mary, Florida, where it is believed he tried to start up a similar scam with organic pickles. If you or someone you know has lost money as a result of an investment or Ponzi scheme, please contact Richard Frankowski at 888-741-7503 to discuss your potential [...]

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled today that ex-Evergreen Corporation President David Willan will serve his full ten year prison sentence for securities violations under the state's racketeering laws. Writing for the 5-2 court, Justice Judith L. French noted that the court found that the three convictions unambiguously apply and subject Willan to a mandatory RICO sentence of ten years. Willan's attorney, Andrea Whitaker, called the ruling "extremely disappointing" and stated that the case will be appealed to the United States Supreme Court on the question of whether the mandatory sentence is constitutional. The appeal will be grounded in a 2013 United States Supreme Court case that held that all facts in a mandatory sentence case must be submitted to and found true by a jury, rather than leaving it to a judge's discretion. Justice Judith Anne Lanzinger dissented, noting that the jury at the trial was not asked whether the crime of false representation supported the most grave racketeering conviction. [...]