GREENWOOD, Ind. — A Greenwood man has been charged by a federal grand jury for his alleged role in three separate fraud schemes.
Daniel R. Fruits, 46, is accused of a nearly $14 million fraud on an investor, an attempted mortgage fraud and a vehicle title-washing scheme.
According to the indictment, Fruits defrauded a Kentucky investor, who was also Fruits' employer, out of nearly $14 million.
The Department of Justice said the investor founded a trucking company, Secure Transit, in 2015 and hired Fruits to run it. During that time, Fruits allegedly lied about the company’s financial health, who its customers were and what the money invested was being used for.
"This financial investor gave his hard-earned money to someone whom he thought he could trust," said acting United States Attorney John E. Childress in a press release. "Instead, the victim's money ended up in the hands of a self-absorbed thief who only cared about his interests. Living a life of fraud is inexcusable and always comes to an end."
Fruits allegedly spent a large portion of the fraudulent money on his own personal purchases and payments, including:
- Approximately $880,000 to purchase a horse farm and his personal residence
- $560,000 on an RV and trailer
- Over $111,000 on a Corvette
- Approximately $90,000 on three Rolex watches
- Approximately $55,000 on a horse
- $33,000 on a horse trailer
- $23,000 on payments for two Ferraris
- $30,000 on payments for two escorts
Fruits also allegedly attempted a mortgage fraud scheme on Fifth Third Bank in 2018 to get a $432,000 mortgage, as well as a title-washing scheme to remove a bank’s lien from the title of a truck he purchased.
