Second Man Pleads Guilty to Fraud Involving Real Estate Loan

CINCINNATI—Dwayne H. Means, 46, of Cincinnati, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in connection with a loan to buy a lot in the Villages of Sugar Ridge subdivision in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, in 2007.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Kevin R. Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati (FBI); and Dugan Wong, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, announced the plea entered yesterday before Senior U.S. District Judge Herman Weber.

According to court documents, Means and Thomas Reusch, 60, Florence, Kentucky, formed TBS Development LLC and applied for a loan to develop a lot in the subdivision. The price of the lot was $1,200,000. Reusch and Means convinced the seller to artificially increase the sale price and TBS obtained a $2,170,000 loan from Central Bank. Means and Reusch did not disclose to the bank that the additional funds included three years’ worth of pre-payment of rent for Gimmies Restaurant, which was located at Sugar Ridge Golf Course, and payments to others including cash back to themselves. TBS submitted false invoices to Central Bank purportedly showing expenditures on development of the lot.

Reusch pleaded guilty on January 8, 2014, to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which is punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million. Reusch’s sentencing is scheduled for April 29. Means’ sentencing is scheduled for April 30.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by FBI special agents and Postal Inspectors and Senior Litigation Counsel Anne Porter, who represented the United States in the case.