Durham fraud victim: I hope he rots in jail
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It is called one the largest financial scams in Indiana history. The man at the center of the $200M scheme, Tim Durham, wants out of federal prison.
That story has now sparked outrage among many of his 5,000 victims. Now they’re reaching out to I-Team 8.
Don Russell and family lost $470,000 to Durham.
“I hope you rot in jail my friend. I say you took my mother and you don’t understand that,” Russell told I-Team 8’s Richard Essex.
Russell contacted I-Team 8 after our original story that Durham was hoping to have his conviction and sentence overturned.
Russell says his mother died 29 days after the FBI raided Durham’s Fair Financial offices in Ohio. His 82-year-old mother had $125,000 with Durham, her entire life savings.
“She kind of went out of her mind a little bit and said ‘oh my money, my money’. She just couldn’t deal with it because it was all she had you know,” Russell said.
The loss of his mother’s money weighs heavy on Russell. He said he advised his mother to invest in Fair Financial. At the time, the company had a 9% rate of return and a solid reputation.
“But then she lost it all you know. It was devastating to watch her go through this. She just had no will to live after this happened,” Russell said.
According to federal prosecutors, Durham and his partners used the company to fund a lavish lifestyle of fast cars and big houses. According to the Indiana Election Division, Durham donated more than $750,000 to Indiana republican campaigns. The money bought influence and a seat at the table with a fast crowd. Russell and his wife lost $350,000, and the loss of that money is eating him alive.
“I would be so consumed by something for so long, like I said, by not turning loss of it. It has affected my health. I was healthy for a lot of years, I ran and had been working out. I’m at the point now where I can hardly walk across the room without being out of breath, and I attribute all of this to him. I would like to thank you very much Tim for really affecting my world,” Russell said.
Russell tells I-Team 8 that his family has recovered less than $40,000 from Durham and his partners.
“It’s been a real struggle you know. It’s devastating to have something like this happen. I have never been through anything that can compare to this for the last 13 years,” Russell said.
Tim Durham has the rest of the week to convince a federal judge that a series of errors by his attorney are the only reason he was convicted and sentenced to 50 years, and that he should be set free as soon as possible.
It could take the federal judge several weeks to render a decision.