Two from Lorain County Charged with Fraud for Diverting $290,000 from Escrow Account

Two Lorain County men were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud for defrauding companies and customers out of more than $290,000, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Charged in the criminal information are Gregory R. Klima, 52, of Avon Lake, and Timothy R. Grodzik, 52, of Columbia Station. The men owned Title Access LLC, with Klima serving as president and Grodzik as vice president of sales, according to the information.

Title Access was formed in 2000 and was in the business of administering real estate transactions by providing services including title insurance and escrow account management. Title Access used Stewart Title as an underwriter for the issuing of title insurance, according to the information.

Klima and Grodzik are accused of defrauding Stewart and parties to real estate transactions by diverting funds from Title Access’ escrow account for their personal benefit between December 2009 and February 2011, according to the information.

Around February 2011, Grodzik, with Klima’s knowledge, falsified Access’ financial documents to conceal from a Stewart auditor the fact that they diverted funds from the Title Access escrow account, according to the information.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Patton following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Ohio Department of Insurance.

An information only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.