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Wednesday, 02 July 2008 |
By MIKE BURKHOLDER
Managing Editor
WAPAKONETA — A St. Marys man faces close to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty Tuesday to bilking area residents out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Brian K. Selby, 41, 234 Southway Drive, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft, including two third-degree felonies and a fourth-degree felony, as well as a five-count bill of information during a hearing in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court Tuesday afternoon. In exchange for the guilty plea to the three theft counts, Auglaize County Prosecuting Attorney Ed Pierce agreed to dismiss 13 additional criminal counts against Selby.
The five counts contained within the bill of information include two counts of failure to remit state sales tax collected, fourth-degree felonies; theft, a fifth-degree felony; worker’s compensation fraud, a fifth-degree felony; and theft by deception, a fourth-degree felony. Selby agreed to a waiver of indictment and pleaded guilty to the bill of information.
Selby initially faced 16 felony charges stemming from his operation of Affordable Motor Sales in St. Marys. During the hearing, Pierce shed some light into Selby’s shady business dealings with area residents.
“He (Selby) was looking for investors and during that period of time, Mr. Selby would, by deception, promise certain profits,” Pierce said. “He was able to obtain extended lines of credit and cars were not purchased and the victim never saw a return of his money.”
Pierce said Selby bilked the victim out of $117,000 in cash and ran up more than $50,000 in credit card debit. In another business dealing, Pierce said Selby defrauded an area resident out of $111,183.
“This was the same type of arrangement with the first victim,” Pierce said. “He even showed (the victim) a warehouse that he said he was going to purchase.”
The third theft charge dealt with numerous victims bilked out of money in failed car deals with Selby. Pierce said Selby scammed a total of $20,500 from the victims in those deals.
“He was taking orders to purchase three-wheel vehicles,” Pierce said. “He received down payments but never sent in the orders.”
Visiting Common Pleas Judge Sumner E. Walters accepted the pleas and found Selby guilty of the charges. Walters continued Selby’s $500,000 bond and ordered a presentence investigation as well as victim impact statements.
Pierce said he plans to recommend a prison term of 10 years on the three theft charges and a term of four years, 11 months on the bill of information. The prosecuting attorney also said he plans to request the terms be run consecutive to each other for a total of 14 years, 11 months.
Selby faces a maximum of 18 years in prison and a $45,000 fine. A sentencing judge also could order Selby to pay any restitution associated with the charges.
The charges contained within the initial indictment stemmed from an investigation into Selby’s business dealings on various dates ranging from January 2003 to September 2007. If convicted on all the counts contained in the initial indictment, Selby faced a maximum of 31 years in prison and a $75,000 fine.
The case came on the heels of a federal criminal probe that led to a 60-day prison sentence for Selby. According to federal court documents out of Toledo, Selby was indicted on two counts of loan fraud. However, he entered into a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to one count of loan fraud in February 2007. As a result of the plea agreement, federal prosecutors dismissed the other count upon sentencing.
Selby served the prison term in a federal detention center in Ashland, Ky., and was released in November. A federal judge also ordered Selby to pay $151,670 in restitution to two banks.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 07 July 2008 )
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