Two indicted in $1.7 million Ponzi scheme
Ohio Attorney General
TOLEDO — Two people accused of defrauding investors of $1.7 million through a Ponzi scheme involving elderly victims have been indicted in Lucas County, Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson and Department of Commerce Director Sherry Maxfield announced.
George Flanner, 70, of Toledo, and Kristin Holcomb, 69, of Chelsea, Michigan, face dozens of felony charges including securities fraud, aggravated theft, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and theft from a person in a protected class.
According to the indictment, Flanner used his position as a licensed investment adviser in Ohio to solicit clients – many of them elderly – for the Made in the Trade Investment Club, a Michigan company operated by Holcomb. Holcomb has never been licensed to sell securities.
From May 2022 through November 2023, at least 19 clients from Ohio and Michigan invested more than $1.7 million with the club. Records show the funds were deposited into Holcomb’s personal brokerage account, which she used for day trading.
An investigation by the Department of Commerce’s Division of Securities found that Holcomb used investor funds for personal expenses and to make Ponzi-style payments to prior investors. Investigators also determined that she allegedly paid Flanner $211,715 over a 13-month period, despite Flanner telling clients that he was not paid to solicit their investments.
Despite being fired by his company in 2023 for failing to disclose the investments in Holcomb’s company, Flanner allegedly continued to advise investors without a license.
The attorney general’s Special Prosecutions Section is prosecuting the case in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.
Indictments are criminal allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proved guilty in a court of law.