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A new and interesting article on the Ohio coin scandal
toothpuller
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Noe ex-employee investigated in theft of coins State cash may have filled Colorado wine cellar
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
James F. Sweeney
Plain Dealer Reporter
Some of the millions missing from an Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation investment might have been poured into a wine cellar in Colorado.
Jefferson County sheriff's deputies searched the suburban Denver home and office of Michael Storeim on Friday. Storeim is the former president of Numismatic Professionals Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tom Noe's Capital Coin Fund, which invested Bureau of Workers' Compensation money in rare coins and other collectibles.
Noe, a major Republican fund-raiser and former member of the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio Turnpike Commission, is under investigation by civil and criminal authorities after he revealed that up to $13 million of Workers' Compensation money could be missing.
Numismatic Professionals, created in 2001, was among the companies Noe formed to deal in rare coins bought with money from the bureau.
Noe managed Workers' Compensation investments totaling $55.4 million.
While the Jefferson County deputies were searching Storeim's million-dollar house in Evergreen, they found a wine cellar with 3,500 bottles, whose value is estimated at $500,000.
Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Jacki Tallman said there is evidence the wine was bought with money from Numismatic Professionals. She declined to discuss details.
Deputies also seized 265 Cuban cigars, which are illegal to possess, computers, hundreds of coins and paperwork from the home and office, Tallman said.
Storeim has not been charged with any crime.
Storeim was not home when the deputies arrived. A locksmith entered the home and set off an alarm. The alarm company called Storeim, who then called the Sheriff's Department to report the possible burglary. We broke in, the department told him; we're executing a search warrant. Come home.
Deputies left the bottles in the wine cellar but put a new lock on the door and police tape over the entrance, Tallman said.
Storeim's lawyer yesterday released a statement that said: "Naturally, Mr. Storeim is disappointed that the false accusations against him have led to this, but he remains convinced that a thorough investigation will lead to his ultimate vindication."
The Sheriff's Department is investigating the theft of two coins from Numismatic Professionals. In 2003, Storeim reported that Numismatic Professionals had bought two coins for $185,000. Storeim sent the coins to a California firm for evaluation. However, Storeim told police that when he opened the box in which the coins were mailed back to him, it was empty.
Kevin Lipton, a California coin dealer who had partnered with Storeim to buy the coins, said he suspected Storeim of stealing them and refused to sign an insurance claim. His insurance company investigated.
That was the beginning of the end of a profitable relationship between Storeim and Noe.
Since being hired in 2001, Storeim, 49, had been paid a salary and a share of the money made by Numismatic Professionals. Storeim left the company in spring 2004, but a subsequent audit estimated he would have earned more than $900,000 had he stayed the entire year.
Storeim left Numismatic Professionals after another employee told Noe he suspected Storeim was stealing.
In March 2004, while Storeim was in Mexico, Noe sent associates to Colorado to clear out the offices of Numismatic Professionals. They brought computers, coins and paperwork back to Noe's offices in Maumee and Noe launched an investigation. A 2004 audit authorized by Noe found 119 coins worth an estimated $93,000 were missing from Numismatic Professionals.
Noe complained to the Professional Numismatists Guild, which suspended Storeim for an undisclosed violation of its code of ethics.
Storeim has denied any wrongdoing and blamed the "missing" coins on poor record keeping. Last month he sued Noe and his associates in federal court, saying they had taken his property.
The complicated scheme by which Storeim allegedly stole from Numismatic Professionals is laid out in an October 2004 memo written by Bureau of Workers' Compensation chief investment officer James McLean. He wrote it after Noe's investigation into his former employee.
Dealers routinely buy coins they think are undervalued and have them professionally evalu ated in hopes of receiving a higher grade and increasing their value. Grading firms judge coins based on their condition, scarcity and appearance. Even a slight upgrade can significantly increase a coin's worth.
Storeim cheated, according to McLean's memo. After sending coins off to be evaluated, he checked their grading reports online before the coins were returned to him. If the grade - and value - increased, he would buy the coins himself or through a third party at the original lower price and make the subsequent profit himself.
In one instance, Storeim bought a coin from Numismatic Professionals for $75,000, then consigned it back to the company for $140,000. Numismatic Professionals then sold the coin for $150,000. McLean wrote that Noe suspects the original price of $75,000 was too low.
The Sheriff's Department investigation is separate from those being done by Ohio and federal authorities, but Colorado law enforcement is sharing information with them, spokeswoman Tallman said.
In the federal investigation, officials have subpoenaed Gov. Bob Taft's former chief of staff, Brian Hicks, and fund-raiser, Jessica "Scottie" May, to appear before a Toledo grand jury in July, a law enforcement source said. The FBI is trying to determine whether Noe skirted federal campaign limits by raising money for the Bush campaign in 2003, then reimbursing the donors.
Some people who appeared on donor lists gave $2,000 in the weeks just before and after an Oct. 30, 2003, fund-raiser attended by the president. Hicks coordinated the event, and his lobbying and consulting firm employs May. Both have been informed that they are "subjects," not "targets," of the federal inquiry, sources said.
The Ohio Ethics Commission announced that it is expanding its investigation of the Noe investments to include an examination of "general BWC practices and procedures to assess compliance with state ethics laws by officials, employees and those involved in BWC processes."
Plain Dealer Columbus Bureau Chief Sandy Theis contributed to this story.
© 2005 The Plain Dealer
.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
James F. Sweeney
Plain Dealer Reporter
Some of the millions missing from an Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation investment might have been poured into a wine cellar in Colorado.
Jefferson County sheriff's deputies searched the suburban Denver home and office of Michael Storeim on Friday. Storeim is the former president of Numismatic Professionals Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tom Noe's Capital Coin Fund, which invested Bureau of Workers' Compensation money in rare coins and other collectibles.
Noe, a major Republican fund-raiser and former member of the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio Turnpike Commission, is under investigation by civil and criminal authorities after he revealed that up to $13 million of Workers' Compensation money could be missing.
Numismatic Professionals, created in 2001, was among the companies Noe formed to deal in rare coins bought with money from the bureau.
Noe managed Workers' Compensation investments totaling $55.4 million.
While the Jefferson County deputies were searching Storeim's million-dollar house in Evergreen, they found a wine cellar with 3,500 bottles, whose value is estimated at $500,000.
Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Jacki Tallman said there is evidence the wine was bought with money from Numismatic Professionals. She declined to discuss details.
Deputies also seized 265 Cuban cigars, which are illegal to possess, computers, hundreds of coins and paperwork from the home and office, Tallman said.
Storeim has not been charged with any crime.
Storeim was not home when the deputies arrived. A locksmith entered the home and set off an alarm. The alarm company called Storeim, who then called the Sheriff's Department to report the possible burglary. We broke in, the department told him; we're executing a search warrant. Come home.
Deputies left the bottles in the wine cellar but put a new lock on the door and police tape over the entrance, Tallman said.
Storeim's lawyer yesterday released a statement that said: "Naturally, Mr. Storeim is disappointed that the false accusations against him have led to this, but he remains convinced that a thorough investigation will lead to his ultimate vindication."
The Sheriff's Department is investigating the theft of two coins from Numismatic Professionals. In 2003, Storeim reported that Numismatic Professionals had bought two coins for $185,000. Storeim sent the coins to a California firm for evaluation. However, Storeim told police that when he opened the box in which the coins were mailed back to him, it was empty.
Kevin Lipton, a California coin dealer who had partnered with Storeim to buy the coins, said he suspected Storeim of stealing them and refused to sign an insurance claim. His insurance company investigated.
That was the beginning of the end of a profitable relationship between Storeim and Noe.
Since being hired in 2001, Storeim, 49, had been paid a salary and a share of the money made by Numismatic Professionals. Storeim left the company in spring 2004, but a subsequent audit estimated he would have earned more than $900,000 had he stayed the entire year.
Storeim left Numismatic Professionals after another employee told Noe he suspected Storeim was stealing.
In March 2004, while Storeim was in Mexico, Noe sent associates to Colorado to clear out the offices of Numismatic Professionals. They brought computers, coins and paperwork back to Noe's offices in Maumee and Noe launched an investigation. A 2004 audit authorized by Noe found 119 coins worth an estimated $93,000 were missing from Numismatic Professionals.
Noe complained to the Professional Numismatists Guild, which suspended Storeim for an undisclosed violation of its code of ethics.
Storeim has denied any wrongdoing and blamed the "missing" coins on poor record keeping. Last month he sued Noe and his associates in federal court, saying they had taken his property.
The complicated scheme by which Storeim allegedly stole from Numismatic Professionals is laid out in an October 2004 memo written by Bureau of Workers' Compensation chief investment officer James McLean. He wrote it after Noe's investigation into his former employee.
Dealers routinely buy coins they think are undervalued and have them professionally evalu ated in hopes of receiving a higher grade and increasing their value. Grading firms judge coins based on their condition, scarcity and appearance. Even a slight upgrade can significantly increase a coin's worth.
Storeim cheated, according to McLean's memo. After sending coins off to be evaluated, he checked their grading reports online before the coins were returned to him. If the grade - and value - increased, he would buy the coins himself or through a third party at the original lower price and make the subsequent profit himself.
In one instance, Storeim bought a coin from Numismatic Professionals for $75,000, then consigned it back to the company for $140,000. Numismatic Professionals then sold the coin for $150,000. McLean wrote that Noe suspects the original price of $75,000 was too low.
The Sheriff's Department investigation is separate from those being done by Ohio and federal authorities, but Colorado law enforcement is sharing information with them, spokeswoman Tallman said.
In the federal investigation, officials have subpoenaed Gov. Bob Taft's former chief of staff, Brian Hicks, and fund-raiser, Jessica "Scottie" May, to appear before a Toledo grand jury in July, a law enforcement source said. The FBI is trying to determine whether Noe skirted federal campaign limits by raising money for the Bush campaign in 2003, then reimbursing the donors.
Some people who appeared on donor lists gave $2,000 in the weeks just before and after an Oct. 30, 2003, fund-raiser attended by the president. Hicks coordinated the event, and his lobbying and consulting firm employs May. Both have been informed that they are "subjects," not "targets," of the federal inquiry, sources said.
The Ohio Ethics Commission announced that it is expanding its investigation of the Noe investments to include an examination of "general BWC practices and procedures to assess compliance with state ethics laws by officials, employees and those involved in BWC processes."
Plain Dealer Columbus Bureau Chief Sandy Theis contributed to this story.
© 2005 The Plain Dealer
.
0
Comments
The plot sickens,,,,er...I mean thickens.
"The box was empty"
WHO IN THE HELL IS EVER GOING TO BUY THOSE 'STOLEN' COINS?
What are these people thinking?
how many coins are so distinctive that a crackout and resubmission would not make them untraceable?
Hopefully he's not in this as thick as this represents.
roadrunner
<< <i>interesting read
how many coins are so distinctive that a crackout and resubmission would not make them untraceable? >>
I'm not familiar with the specific coins, but for the two gold pieces Storeim allegedly reported as stolen, they were valued at $300k, so the population at grade must be extremely low-drawing scruitiny to an open sale or sumbmission, I'm guessing. For the other 119 coins, it seems that they would likely be difficult to trace. That is only my WAG, however.
Don
Storeim has not been charged with any crime.
Somehow, it makes me uneasy to see those two sentences side by side.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.