Fairmont vs. Mt. Notre Dame
Miami Valley styles
'Tis the Season Festival
Get latest headlines via RSS feeds
NewsVine
Del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Reddit
StumbleuponEx-business owner ordered to pay $7 million
Monday, August 25, 2008
DAYTON — Steve Clayton, the former owner of Miami Valley's largest title insurance agency, Equity Land Title Insurance Inc., was sentenced to 12 years in prison Monday and ordered to pay more than $7 million in restitution for stealing escrow funds from hundreds of individuals and businesses.
A Montgomery County jury in May found Clayton guilty of multiple counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, aggravated theft, and money laundering.
Visiting Judge William McCracken issued the sentence Monday, Aug. 25.
A routine audit conducted in 2002 by the agency's underwriter, First American Title Insurance, revealed that Clayton stole the money between 1995 and 2002. The Department then assisted local law enforcement in the execution of a search warrant at his residence in 2002.
Paperwork evidence was found that showed Clayton spent the funds on such things as trips to Disney World, box seats to Bengals and Reds games, tickets to a professional golf tournament, gambling trips to Las Vegas, cruises and expensive cars, according to the Ohio Department of Insurance.
It was the largest title insurance investigation in the insurance department's history. An attorney for the Department acted as special prosecutor on the case with the Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office.
"The sole purpose of Mr. Clayton's reprehensible conduct was to satisfy his greediness and to fund a lavish lifestyle," said Mary Jo Hudson, director of the insurance department. "His behavior ultimately cost numerous ordinary citizens their hard-earned money and dreams while also causing financial loss for many businesses."
To maintain the perception of a legitimate business operation, Clayton used a massive "check-kiting" scheme involving the theft of escrow funds for future closings to pay the previously closed real estate transactions for which he had already spent the funds, the department said in a news release. The investigative team sifted through bank records spanning seven years, and numerous other financial accounts to unravel and prove the wrongdoing. Some of the victimized people and businesses with title insurance have been made whole by several title insurance companies and banking institutions.
Clayton's title insurance agency is closed. His agent license has been suspended since 2002 pending the outcome of his criminal trial.
Starting in 2008, Ohio title agents are required to have an annual review of their escrow accounts by certified public accountants and report the results of that review, the department said.
