Missoulian.com:
http://www.missoulian.com/archives/index.inn?loc=detail&doc=/2002/June/29-1030-news04.txtJune 29, 2002
Pair charged with stealing millions from widow
By BOB ANEZ Associated Press
HELENA - Two men are jailed on charges that they bilked a 100-year-old Powell County widow out of more than $6 million of her life's savings in a series of investment schemes over a seven-year period.
Darryl K. Willis of Helena was arrested Thursday night and arraigned Friday in District Court at Deer Lodge on charges of conspiracy, theft, perjury, elder abuse and securities fraud.
Dale A. Erickson of Missoula was arrested Thursday in Windsor, Conn., and jailed awaiting arraignment on similar charges.
Bail was set at $2.5 million for each man, Powell County Attorney Chris Miller said.
The complaint says Willis and Erickson engaged in the "systematic looting" of the estate of Una Anderson by transferring her assets into various trust funds and using the money for their own benefit.
More than $2 million went to finance an effort to establish Montana's first foreign capital depository, which would offer a place for the supper-rich to stash their money similar to Swiss-style and offshore-type banks.
Willis and Erickson could each face up to 101 years in prison and $366,000 in fines.
According to court documents, Una and Eric Anderson amassed their fortune through hard work and a conservative lifestyle. They had a 6,400-acre ranch in Powell County, and Una Anderson ran the post office in Jens for 30 years.
Her money was invested conservatively and in the ranch until Erickson approached her in early 1995. He offered her proposals to put her money into various trust funds and have Willis, a retired investment broker, manage the money, the complaint said.
"With the use of false information, poor tax advice and scare tactics, the defendants deceived Una into believing that the only way to preserve her assets from excessive taxes, to maintain control of the assets and to be able to pass these assets on to heirs" was to put the money into trust funds, prosecutors said.
Mrs. Anderson was acquainted with Willis through church and trusted him, but he provided her with no documentation or accounting of what was happening with her money, they said.
She signed agreements giving Willis and Erickson control over her money.
The ranch, appraised in 1995 at $5.3 million, was sold by Willis and Erickson for $4 million in 1999. They never told Anderson of the sale and paid themselves a $381,000 commission for the sale, even though neither man held a real-estate license, documents said.
Within a year of the sale, only $23,000 of the $4 million remained, authorities said.
The men diverted money from Anderson's trust funds and funneled it as loans into various businesses with which Erickson, Willis or their relatives were involved. Almost none of the money was ever repaid, and records seized in a search of Willis' home last month showed the loans were written off as uncollectable.
Willis and Erickson also use Anderson's money to pay themselves more than $1 million in "management and consulting fees," and Willis used $150,000 of Anderson's money to pay for his Helena house, records said.
The men allegedly used $750,000 to invest in an Erickson company developing an acid mine drainage system. But none of the money was returned to any trust fund, and the company is on the verge of bankruptcy, court documents said.
The money intended to launch the state's first foreign capital depository was sent in late 1999 to two companies, Globalink and Allied General Insurance. Both were operated by William Abraczinskas, who was convicted in Florida federal court five months ago on money-laundering charges.
Globalink was hired by the state a few years ago to market the state's efforts to attract Swiss-style banking. Erickson and Willis were involved with First Montana Depository, a company trying to get the first charter for such a financial institution.
The state Banking Board in December 2000 raised questions about the financing Willis had for the project and delayed approval.
"We felt a strong sense of obligation to find out where their capital was coming from," Jim Drummond, board chairman, said Friday. "We asked them to provide full disclosure."
Annie Bartos, state banking commissioner, said Friday the board and her office closed the file on the company's application because it never provided the financial information requested.
She also said her office canceled the state's contract with Globalink after Abraczinskas was convicted.
Court records said neither Willis nor Erickson told Anderson how her money would be used to finance the depository plan or that some of the money was diverted to a third business operated by Abraczinskas. Willis also never disclosed at Banking Board hearings that Anderson was being used as his source of money, according to the complaint.
Court records said Abraczinskas turned over $1.75 million in property and other assets to Willis, Erickson and other creditors to resolve business disputes in October 2000, but none of those assets were returned to the Anderson trust fund from which money was taken. Instead, the assets were put to personal use by Willis and Erickson, the files said.
Missoulian.com: http://www.missoulian.com/archives/index.inn?loc=detail&doc=/2002/August/09-1943-news17.txtAugust 09, 2002
Church elder appears in court
Missoula man accused of bilking 100-year-old Deer Lodge woman of $6 million
By VERA HAFFEY of the Montana Standard
DEER LODGE - A church elder accused of looting more than $6 million from the trust estate of a 100-year-old Deer Lodge woman appeared in Powell County District Court on Wednesday to face 10 felony charges and a misdemeanor.
Dale A. Erickson, 53, of Missoula, is charged with theft by deception, perjury, two counts of conspiracy, three counts of felony theft, three counts of securities fraud and elder abuse, a misdemeanor.
Erickson was arrested June 27 in Windsor, Conn., and was held at the Windsor Police Department under $2.5 million bond until this week, when he was transferred to Deer Lodge.
During his court appearance, Erickson was represented by Logan Blanck, an assistant of Missoula lawyer Milt Datsopoulos, who didn't attend Wednesday's proceedings. Blanck requested a bond reduction hearing be scheduled. Afterwards, Erickson was remanded to the custody of the Powell County sheriff and his $2.5 million bail was continued.
Records indicate Erickson and a co-defendant in the case, Darryl K. Willis, 63, of Helena, were church elders who allegedly befriended and betrayed Una Anderson.
According to court documents, the state alleges the pair systematically drained Anderson's trust estate between 1995 and 2002. Until 1995, Anderson's assets were held in conservative investment accounts and included a 6,400-acre ranch near Jens, according to Powell County Attorney Chris Miller.
Miller alleges the men used a complex system of trusts and interlocking companies to steal Anderson's money for their own use. He didn't say which religious denomination Anderson belongs to.
Willis was also arrested June 27 and was arraigned in Deer Lodge on June 28. Willis faces identical charges and is also held at the Powell County Jail in lieu of $2.5 million bail. He has since been granted a bond reduction hearing, but District Judge Ted Mizner has not yet made a ruling on the matter.
Sheriff Scott Howard said high bail was set because both men represent a flight risk, given their likely access to money and passports used for off-shore banking.
The case was brought to the attention of Miller and Howard in September 2001 by members of the elderly woman's family and Adult Protective Services worker Janel Pliley. Because of the magnitude of the allegations, Miller and Howard enlisted the help of state officials.
"Sheriff Howard and I quickly realized that Powell County did not have the resources available for the investigation and prosecution of this case," Miller said. "Attorney General Mike McGrath has taken a personal interest in this case, and has made some of his best people and substantial Department of Justice resources available ..."
Assistant Attorney Generals Mark Murphy and Melissa Broch will lead the prosecution team. Murphy specializes in white-collar crime, and Broch is experienced in complex litigation, Miller said.
