INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - Former Indianapolis businessman Tim Durham launched a new bid to have his convictions for fraud and conspiracy overturned and to have his sentence reduced.
Durham claims both his trial and appellate attorneys made major mistakes that cost him his freedom.
Durham is serving 50 years in federal prison. In 2012, he was convicted of securities fraud, conspiracy and wire fraud. Prosecutors say he and two other men ran an Ohio-based company, Fair Finance, like it was their “personal piggy bank,” defrauding more than 5,000 investors of more than $200 million.
In his latest motion, Durham lists 12 grounds for overturning his case. He lists what he sees as errors committed by his attorney for the trial, John Tompkins, and his attorney for his appeals, James Mutchnik.
Durham claims his trial counsel failed to investigate his case properly and did not subpoena necessary witnesses both before and during the trial. Durham also believes his attorney did not do enough to fight search warrants or a wiretaps. Much of the information federal investigators obtained through those tools was used as evidence in their case.
Durham also claims Tompkins made mistakes during the jury instructions and in the sentencing portion of the trial. He also claims Tompkins had a conflict of interest.
He claims his appellate counsel was ineffective and also failed to fight the information investigators obtained during a wiretap. He also contends that the attorney did not challenge the dollar amount the judge used to help determine how much money Durham was accused of taking. A lower amount might have reduced Durham’s sentence.
This kind of motion, known as a 2255 motion, is commonly filed by prisoners in federal custody who want to have their convictions and sentences changed.
Eyewitness News reached Tompkins who did not have any comment on Durham’s accusations. WTHR reached out to Mutchnik, but had not received a response at the time of this publication.
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Courts have rejected all of Durham’s other requests to overturn his conviction. Two of his 12 original convictions were overturned on appeal, but the judge did not reduce Durham’s 50-year sentence.
Durham has also been ordered to pay a $1.3 million fine.
The bankruptcy trustee for Fair Finance has paid investors about $18 million of the more than $200 million they lost.
