April 30, 2024
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Joliet school, church paid high price in federal Ponzi-like fraud case

By Felix Sarver
A sign to save Messiah Lutheran sits on the corner of Houbolt Road and Jefferson Street on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 at the church in Joliet. As a result of a lawsuit by the Security and Exchange Commission for fraudulent financial dealings by a local company, Messiah Lutheran is required to pay back $487,000 of the $780,000 that was donated over a 10-year period to the church by this local business.

A sign to save Messiah Lutheran sits on the corner of Houbolt Road and Jefferson Street on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 at the church in Joliet. As a result of a lawsuit by the Security and Exchange Commission for fraudulent financial dealings by a local company, Messiah Lutheran is required to pay back $487,000 of the $780,000 that was donated over a 10-year period to the church by this local business. (Gary Middendorf/Gary Middendorf)

The fallout from a Minooka company that federal authorities deemed a Ponzi-like enterprise has cost a Joliet school and a church hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlements, along with a $153,500 judgment against a Channahon nonprofit organization, court records show.

Joliet Catholic Academy, Messiah Lutheran Church and Legacy Families all received money from Today’s Growth Consultant in Minooka. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said in a 2019 lawsuit the company was engaged in a “Ponzi-like scheme” to defraud investors.

A federal judge appointed Melanie Damian, an attorney with a Florida law firm, in 2019 to take over Today’s Growth Consultant. Part of Damian’s mission is to recover what her attorneys alleged were fraudulent transfers of hundreds of thousands of dollars made by the company to Joliet Catholic Academy, Messiah Lutheran Church and Legacy Families.

Joliet Catholic Academy and Messiah Lutheran Church and Legacy Families have not been accused of any wrongdoing.

As a result, Damian reached settlements that required Joliet Catholic Academy to pay $100,000 and Messiah Lutheran Church to pay $487,000, court records show. Last year, a federal judge granted Damian’s motion for a $153,500 default judgement against Legacy Families in Channahon.

Messiah Lutheran Church already has paid $187,000 of what it owes. However, if church officials don’t pay $300,000 by Nov. 15, they could lose the church. Jim Murphy, an attorney for the church, said at a news conference last week that the situation that led to the church owing the money was “solely unforeseen.”

“This is no different than a natural disaster,” Murphy said last week.

At the center of the storm is Ken Courtright, owner of Today’s Growth Consultant. A federal jury in July found Courtright guilty of committing wire fraud with the company.

Courtright was not available Tuesday at his Minooka home, but later sent an email declining to comment.

Joliet Catholic Academy is interested in purchasing neighboring Our Lady of Angels to expand the campus.

Joliet Catholic Academy entered into a settlement with a court-appointed receiver who is clawing back investor funds that she said were misused by a Minooka company. (Gary Middendorf – gmiddendorf@shawmedia/Gary Middendorf)

Jeffrey Budz, president and principal of Joliet Catholic Academy, didn’t answer questions about the SEC lawsuit against Courtright’s company. Budz said a confidential settlement agreement “does not allow the parties to comment.”

Court records show the school was required in a settlement to pay $50,000 within 30 days of the judge’s approval, and $10,000 a month for five months.

A message and call to Legacy Families was not immediately returned Wednesday.

A 2020 lawsuit from Damian said several of Courtright’s children attended the school and their tuition was paid for with funds from Today’s Growth Consultant.

Damian’s lawsuit alleged Joliet Catholic Academy, Messiah Lutheran Church and Legacy Families all received “substantial amounts of funds” from the company without providing value to the company in exchange for those funds. The money came from investors and creditors that Courtright’s company defrauded, the lawsuit alleged.

Courtright has not been sentenced in the criminal case. His sentencing hearing is set for Nov. 22, but federal prosecutors first must contend with Courtright’s motion for an acquittal. Prosecutors also requested more time to account for the losses suffered by the victims in the case.

“This case involves hundreds of victims, and the government requires additional time to complete the victim loss spreadsheet,” Jason Yonan, assistant U.S. attorney, said in an Aug. 1 motion.

Messiah Lutheran’s lawyer Jim Murphy speaks at a press conference on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 at the church in Joliet. As a result of a lawsuit by the Security and Exchange Commission for fraudulent financial dealings by a local company, Messiah Lutheran is required to pay back $487,000 of the $780,000 that was donated over a 10-year period to the church by this local business.

Jim Murphy, an attorney for Messiah Lutheran Church, speaks at a news conference Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, about financial crisis impacting the church. A court-appointed receiver is seeking to claw back money given to the church by a Minooka company that federal authorities said engaged in a "Ponzi-like scheme." (Gary Middendorf/Gary Middendorf)