Greenwood man indicted, accused of using investor’s $14M to buy Rolex watches, fancy cars, horse farm - CBS 4 Indianapolis

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INDIANAPOLIS – A Greenwood man has been indicted after federal prosecutors say he bilked $14 million from an investor—just one of three schemes he’s accused of carrying out.

Daniel R. Fruits, 46, is charged with 10 counts of wire fraud, six counts of money laundering, two counts of making false statements to a federally insured bank and one count of mail fraud, according to the grand jury indictment.

One scheme involved a Kentucky investor who founded Secure Transit in 2015 and hired Fruits to run it. For more than 4 years, the investor put about $14 million into the business.

During that time, Fruits lied about the company’s financial health, who its customers were and what the money was being used for, federal prosecutors said. Fruits falsified sales contracts and financial statements that reported inflated company profits.

Fruits asked the investor for additional money, sometimes millions of dollars, which he claimed he would use to buy more trucks or for other business expenses.

But a significant portion of that money went toward Fruits’ own purchases.

Prosecutors allege that he spent approximately $880,000 to purchase a horse farm, $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, and $30,000 on payments for escorts.

That wasn’t the only scheme he was involved in, however, according to investigators.

Fruits twice submitted falsified paperwork to Fifth Third Bank in an effort to secure a $432,000 mortgage. Those papers claimed Fruits had paid off loans from another bank, even though he hadn’t.

He was also involved in a “title-washing” scheme to remove a bank lien from the title of a truck he’d purchased. Fruits obtained a $69,000 loan from Ally Financial. Months later, he sent a letter that appeared to be from the bank to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles that said the loan had been paid off and the lien should be released.

In reality, the loan had not been paid off. Still, the BMV issued a free-and-clear title for the truck. Fruits then sold it for $48,000 without paying back the loan to Ally Financial.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation handled the case.

The government wants Fruits, if convicted, to forfeit any money from investors or property he bought with their money.

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December 17, 2020 at 11:55PM
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Greenwood man indicted, accused of using investor’s $14M to buy Rolex watches, fancy cars, horse farm - CBS 4 Indianapolis

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