James P. Griffin, the Cazenovia man indicted last year on federal charges of wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, has had his trial rescheduled to April 4 from its original Nov. 16, 2015 date. On Feb. 29, his attorney filed a motion for an omnibus release, making multiple requests for documents as part of the standard discovery process. The motion is still pending, though a response is due by March 22.
Griffin was the Chief Executive Officer of 54 Freedom Companies, which has offices in Cazenovia. He was indicted on July 22, 2015 on a $1.6 million scheme to defraud investors since 2009. The charges filed against Griffin by the U.S. Attorney included eight counts of wire fraud, five counts of mail fraud and five counts of money laundering.
Griffin’s defense attorney in the case, Thomas Cerio, said his client is “working tirelessly to resolve these issues and clear his name.”
In a parallel case, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Syracuse one week after the U.S. Attorney’s office, alleging that Griffin defrauded 125 or more investors of at least $8 million starting in 2007. In addition, Griffin is alleged to have sold purported “charitable gift annuities” that he falsely claimed were backed by reputable insurance companies and to have diverted at least $1.2 million of investor funds to pay for corporate and personal expenses, including a large boat, luxury cars, expensive clothing and jewelry, country club memberships and trips he and his wife took to Hawaii and New Zealand, according to the complaint.
Griffin’s wife, Chary Griffin, also was named as a relief defendant for the purpose of recovering allegedly misappropriated investor funds. A relief defendant is a person or entity who has received ill-gotten funds or assets as a result of the illegal acts of the other named defendants.
Officials at the SEC did not respond to calls seeking comment on their case against Griffin or when it would go to trial.
