Robert W. Walton, Jr., Investment Fraud, Ohio 2024

An Ohio man has admitted to orchestrating a massive investment fraud scheme in Pike County, defrauding dozens of investors out of millions of dollars. Robert W. Walton, Jr., 54, of Loveland, Ohio, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of theft from an employee benefit plan in U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, on an undisclosed date.

According to court documents, Walton engaged in a scheme to defraud investors of Hadsell Chemical Processing, LLC (HCP) and related entities. The scheme involved Walton fraudulently seeking investments in the form of promissory notes from dozens of victim investors, claiming the notes were personally guaranteed by a prominent local business owner when in fact they were not.

Walton repeatedly forged the business owner’s signature from 2012 through 2015 without the business owner’s authority on several loan documents and promissory notes. He also provided investors with fake invoices and a falsified profit and loss statement, changing HCP’s net income during January to May 2014 from approximately -$800,000 to nearly $395,000.

During part of his employment at HCP, Walton was responsible for approving the remittance of employee retirement funds to an employee benefit plan sponsored by HCP. However, Walton failed to remit approximately $53,000 withheld from employees’ pay, failing to transfer the funds into employee retirement funds.

The United States is seeking more than $8.6 million in restitution for the victims of the fraud scheme. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and embezzling from an employee benefit plan carries a potential maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.

Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. The case was announced by Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Cincinnati Division; and L. Joe Rivers, Regional Director, United States Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration, Cincinnati Regional Office.

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