Summit County man pleads guilty to misuse of credit card
Steven Drexler, 59, and a resident of New Franklin (Summit County), pleaded guilty Monday to misuse of a credit card, a fourth-degree felony. He also has agreed to repay the unauthorized charges submitted to the victim’s credit card.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 20, 2024.
Drexler was indicted in June 2023 in Medina County Common Pleas Court on six criminal felony counts including securities fraud, attempted theft by deception from an elderly person, theft by deception, misuse of credit cards and telecommunications fraud.
The indictment alleged that between Sept. 18, 2018 through Oct. 6, 2018, Drexler solicited an elderly couple living in Medina Township to invest $400,000 in an investment that was not registered for sale in the state of Ohio and submitted charges in the aggregate amount of $53,000 to the victim’s credit card without her authorization. Drexler met the victim through a contact at church when her husband was in the final stages of a terminal illness.
The indictment followed a criminal referral by the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Securities. The case was prosecuted by the Office of Medina County Prosecutor, S. Forrest Thompson.
“In every instance of fraud, the victims are not just names or statistics – they are families, retirees and our fellow Ohioans who deserve to feel secure about their financial future,” Ohio Securities Commissioner Andrea Seidt said. “Furthermore, there can be zero tolerance for those who prey on the elderly and the most vulnerable Ohioans. This sentence reinforces our commitment to safeguard the trust and resources of investors and industry professionals, making Ohio a more secure place to invest and conduct business.”
Before investing, the Division of Securities encourages potential investors to call the Division’s Investor Protection Hotline at 877-683-7841 and ask the following questions:
• Is the securities professional, platform or firm properly licensed to do business in Ohio?
• Is the security being promoted by the firm, platform or the professional registered for sale in Ohio?
• Are there any enforcement actions involving the firm, professional, platform or securities product being promoted?