Infamous Indiana Millionaire in Hot Water with Law Enforcement!

Tim Durham, one of Indiana's most infamous bachelor multi-millionaires, had his company headquarter offices raided Tuesday November 24, 2009 by the FBI. Durham's offices for his company, Obsidian Enterprises, a leverage buyout firm, are located in the Chase Tower in downtown Indianapolis. Durham who is a self-proclaimed materialist recently claimed to be worth $75 million dollars and was in L.A. at the time of the raids, but was picked up by LAPD later in the day. With a Hollywood mansion, a private 100 foot yacht and 3 private jets he has never been shy regarding his mega wealth according to Indianapolismonthly.com. He is also the owner of the Indianapolis restaurant Bella Vita and nightclub Gelo Ultra Lounge, not to mention Fair Finance based in Akron, OH which was the target of a separate raid also conducted by the FBI. That only skims the surface of his many material possessions and countless companies under the umbrella of Obsidian Enterprises & Fair Finance. Fox News broke this story locally at approximately 4:00 p.m. but did not mention why the FBI had taken interest in Durham and his companies, or what had sparked the raids. As of November 27, 2009 the warrants for these raids remain sealed and the FBI continues to remain silent however, as AdvanceIndiana.blogspot.com reports Durham's Ohio based Fair Finance had recently submitted some new proposals that raised some red flags. What doesn't seem to be far fetched speculation, is that Durham needed those new funds to pay off old debts in order to keep his companies running and his lavish lifestyle intact.

It will be interesting to watch this story closely and see what ramifications this may cause for his close friend, Marion County Prosecutor, Carl Brizzi. Since Durham is well known for his fundraising efforts for Mr. Brizzi's campaigns, as well as other prominent Indiana Republicans, whether or not any illegal maneuvers or funds were used for said fundraising remains to be seen. It will also be interesting to see what Mr. Brizzi has to publicly say on the raid of Durham's offices as well as if he will be responsible for filing charges against his good friend and fundraiser. Exactly how much did Brizzi and other Republican recipients of Durham's fundraising efforts know about what Durham was doing with his investors money? Durham's Indianapolis office is located on the top floor of the Chase Tower, the highest point in Indiana, which may very well become a poetic irony when it comes to seeing how far he could be falling from "grace." His company was once a publicly traded but amidst complaints that it was hemorrhaging money Obsidian once again became a private company in 2006. Durham boasts profits are now up 300% in the last few years but no one except Durham knows for sure as also stated by indianapolismonthly.com. Durham's reputation, at the very least, is a checkered one. Indiana and the nation will be anxiously awaiting new details on the documents seized by the FBI during their raids of his Obsidian Headquarters located in Indianapolis and his Fair Finance offices located in Akron.