Federal complaint highlights probe into alleged illegal staffing, money laundering
What happened: A civil forfeiture action filed last week connected to the 2024 federal raid at Fuyao Glass America’s Moraine plant describes a yearslong federal investigation of a sophisticated money laundering operation paid over $126 million by Fuyao.
No one has been criminally charged in the case. The civil forfeiture action attempts to seize items including vehicles, real estate and even a Cartier watch in connection to the ongoing investigation.
What the feds said: “Investigators discovered that these business owners created roughly 40 entities that augmented these factories’ workforce with individuals who illegally entered the United States, who are unlawfully present in the United States, and/or who are working without required employment authorizations,” the complaint states.
A Fuyao representative declined to comment.
Read about our investigation last year.
AES Ohio electric price auction delayed
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
The situation: An auction to help determine the price of electricity for Dayton electric utility AES Ohio has been delayed.
An auction scheduled last week has been rescheduled to April 29, a spokesman for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) said.
Why it matters: All Ohio utilities participate in competitive market-based auctions for generation of electricity.
In these auctions, wholesale suppliers bid to serve AES Ohio customers their generation supply, and pricing is based on market conditions that day.
How area businesses are coming to terms with tariffs
Credit: NYT
Credit: NYT
Torrent of tariffs: Newly implemented federal tariffs — and there are a lot of them — will affect the cost of supplies area companies use and sell in manufacturing and other industries, many believe.
Local impact: The tariffs will force area companies to adapt.
Joshua Smith, chief executive of the Butler County Finance Authority, sees potential to impact the development and construction sectors.
“In discussions with several developers, many have acknowledged proactively pricing in cost escalations due to both the immediate impact of tariffs and the continued persistence of inflation, which remain notably sticky,” Smith told us.
A look at the renewed Deneau Tower
Revisiting the Deneau: The Grant-Deneau Tower, Dayton’s first modern high-rise office building that fell on hard times and sat vacant for years, has been turned into 147 ritzy new apartments and commercial spaces that offer dazzling downtown views.
Windsor Companies, a busy Dayton developer, has spent more than $50 million to adapt the 22-story former office tower that once felt like it was stuck in the 1990s.
Read the story (and see the photos).
How did the Dragons came to Dayton?
Credit: Mary Cleveland
Credit: Mary Cleveland
When we talk about the Dayton Dragons, we’re talking about a team that succeeded where all other Dayton-area minor league franchises, in any sport, failed.
How the Dragons hit a home run for Dayton: “People were really just like vehemently against this,” Team President Robert Murphy recalled in an interview.
“There were a lot of skeptics,” said Anthony Capizzi, a former Montgomery County Juvenile Court judge who was among the first to advocate for a Minor League team while serving on Dayton City Commission. “In fact, 80% of people were skeptics.”
Contact me: Thank you for reading and being here. Tell me about your business (or job) at tom.gnau@coxinc.com or at X and Bluesky. I’m also on LinkedIn and on our Dayton Business page, with my colleagues.
Quick hits
Middletown’s Jug opens again: Just as it has for 93 years.
Looking for a place to eat in Springfield? We have you covered.
PHOTOS: Weekend flooding.
DOD civilian retirements: Deferred resignations and retirements may be sought until April 14.
Why are they called the ‘Dragons?‘: What’s in a name?
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