WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP — New developments on an investigation into a local accounting firm.
News Center 7 previously reported that Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation trucks were reported at Essex and Associates Thursday.
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A complaint filed in Montgomery County Common Pleas court accuses Essex & Associates along with various companies owned by Wayne Essex of defrauding investors.
Court documents reveal this isn’t the first time.
Essex was investigated for the same accusations 13 years ago and agreed to stop selling investments.
Now documents allege he has taken more than $4 million from at least 16 investors since 2022.
Two Montgomery County couples were listed in court documents, both reached out to Essex in 2022.
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Each time Essex recommended the couples invest their money in companies he also owned.
For one couple, it was more than $60,000 and the other more than $100,000.
In both cases, Essex is accused of using the money for something other than what was agreed on.
Court documents show investor’s money was used for various retail purchases, payments to an earlier investor, and a 2025 Mercedes Benz sprinter van for $200,000.
Investigators described it as a “classic Ponzi scheme.”
The director of Ohio’s Department of Commerce asked that all inventory money be returned.
Friday afternoon, News Center 7 obtained a court order appointing someone to make sure the money taken in part of the scheme is recovered.
We will continue to follow this story.
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