CONTINUING COVERAGE
The Journal-News has spent the most days covering 10-week the Pete Beck trial than any other media outlet. Follow reporter Michael D. Pitman on Twitter at @MDPitmanJournal for live updates Tuesday.
After having his day in court — which was a 43-day trial that spanned 10 weeks — former Warren County lawmaker Pete Beck will learn his fate Tuesday.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge John Andrew West will render his verdict on the 38 counts charged against Beck by the state of Ohio for his involvement in the Christopher Technologies, a failed start-up tech firm prosecutors claim turned into an scam that defrauded investors out of millions of dollars.
During the course of the trial, the prosecution, led by Senior Assistant Attorney General Dan Kasaris, claimed Beck lied about his role in the start-up company, lied to investors in order to convince them to pore money into the fledgling company, and acted in concert with others as a part of a “criminal enterprise.”
Those alleged lies were designed to ensure the tech company stayed alive and to funnel money to his political campaign, which were passed onto the Ohio House Republican Caucus. Later lives served as “self-preservation,” said Senior Assistant Attorney General Jesse Kramig, Kasaris’ co-counsel.
“His motive, one, to receive money, to steal along with these other members of the enterprise,” said Kramig. “Also, and more importantly, it’s connected with his role as CFO with Christopher Technologies …. He has an expectation, a hope that it will become a multi-million dollar company. If C-Tech dies, that dies.”
However, Beck’s defense team, led by attorney Ralph Kohnen, claimed their client was merely a “scapegoat” and was the “fifth defendant in a four-defendant case.” They claim he was duped just like the investors and was used by the true crook, the late Tom Lysaght, a man court documents reference as the “rainmaker” in the alleged investment scheme and a “flim-flam man” by Kohnen. Lysaght ran TML Consulting, a holding company of sorts for investor funds that was to disseminate money to other companies. Evidence showed Lysaght, who died in November 2010, allegedly used much of that money for personal gain.
Beck’s defense team also claims the investors, many of whom testified in the trial, are “embarrassed” because they took a gamble on a risky start-up company and lost. Kohnen said the initial complaint filed, and the ensuing civil suit, is an attempt by the investors to salvage money and reputations on the back of Beck.
“Despite his presumption of innocence, he’s lost a lot already,” said Kohnen last week on the first day of closing arguments. “Mr. Beck has lost an election, he’s lost a job, he’s lost his savings and gone well into debt just to pay to defend himself, he’s lost an outstanding reputation as a CPA.”
The 62-year-old Beck was once the mayor of Mason and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee when he was indicted on 16 counts by a Hamilton County grand jury in July 2013, some seven months after 14 investors filed a civil suit against Beck and others.
Then in February 2014, 54 more counts were issued against Beck in a superseding indictment. Eventually that first indictment was dismissed as those charges were included in the second indictment. Before the start of the trial on March 23, the state amended the superseding indictment down to 39 charges — one of which, a money laundering charge, has been dismissed.
Among the charges, which include several theft, perjury and securities-related counts, also includes a charge of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a section under the federal RICO Act. The corruption charge is the most serious of all 38, and comes with a mandatory minimum 10-year prison sentence.
The criminal trial has put on hold the two civil cases against Beck. The first of the two civil suits involves 14 of the investors in either Christopher Technologies and/or TML Consulting. The other was filed by Vernon “Chip” DeMois, who is one of the alleged co-conspirators of Beck. DeMois was found guilty to a securities violation for his role in the $500,000 Michael Farms investment to TML Consulting. He agreed to plead no contest and testify against Beck.
Konrad Kircher, Beck’s attorney in the civil suit that involves the 14 investors, is reserving comment until after Tuesday’s verdict, saying, “It’s all going to depend on what’s going to happen.”
J. Thomas Hodges, attorney for the investors, said he imagines Common Pleas Judge Robert Winkler will soon rule on the outstanding motions, including Beck’s motion to dismiss and counterclaim, before the discovery phase begins. DeMois is one of the co-defendants in this civil suit.
“The evidence in the criminal trial has clearly shown bad conduct by Mr. Beck and an number of other individuals,” he said. “Our goal is to hold them accountable by obtaining as much of the fraudulently obtained investments on behalf of my clients.”
DeMois’ attorney Steven Goodin said he hopes his client’s testimony in the criminal trial will demonstrate to the plaintiffs “he wasn’t involved” with Christopher Technologies outside of the Michael Farms deal, which he testified he’d pay back the money he received because of it.
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