Ohio State Senator (R-of course) faces 69 felony counts in church scandal
A powerful state lawmaker from Mason, a secretive Linwood church, its pastor and her business face dozens felony charges, potentially decades of jail time and the possible forfeiture of a “castle” owned by the church.
State Rep. Peter Beck, R-Mason, now faces a total of 69 felony counts and is under pressure to resign his General Assembly seat. A Hamilton County indictment alleges Beck helped bilk investors of hundreds of thousands of dollars as chief financial officer of an insolvent West Chester software startup owned by the late Cincinnati money manager Thomas M. Lysaght. Beck also is accused of taking some of the money intended for the startup, called Christopher Technologies, and diverting it to his campaign fund.
Ark by the River Fellowship Ministry, a secretive Linwood church investigated by The Enquirer in September, also received much of the money from the fraud, according to the indictment issued Thursday. So the church – a “cult,” according to the felony indictment – and Pastor Janet Combs, who is Lysaght’s widow, also face felony charges for corruption, money laundering and receiving stolen property.
A Mount Lookout mansion called “Crusade Castle,” owned by the church for Combs’ use, is eligible for forfeiture under the charges.
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http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20140213/NEWS01/302130073/53-new-counts-against-State-Rep-Beck
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