Former Fair Finance Owner Pays Bankruptcy Trustee $3.5 Million

I don't think Don Fair owed a dime to the bankruptcy trustee for the more than $200 million convicted Ponzi schemer Tim Durham swindled from the small Ohio investors, but the former owner of Fair Finance has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle a claim brought against him by the trustee. Fair sold the company to Durham and his business partner, James Cochran, back in 2002 for about $20 million. Payments to Fair were spread out over several years, but he otherwise had no part in managing or operating the company after selling it. The rap artist Ludacris has also agreed to return about $75,000 in contributions Durham gave to his foundation when he was being generous in giving away other people's money. With the odds looking less likely the bankruptcy trustee will be able to recover money from anyone with deep pockets, particularly the creditors who loaned money to Durham to buy Fair Finance, it's doubtful the company's investors will ever recover any of the money they invested in the company.