Larry Corna, 50, Columbus, Ohio was indicted by a Franklin County, Ohio Grand Jury on eleven counts of theft, forgery and passing bad checks in connection with allegations he defrauded three investors out of thousands of dollars.

Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro and investigators from the Columbus Mortgage Fraud Task Force said Corna convinced individuals to assist buyers in providing down payments for “rehab properties” in Franklin County, Ohio. Corna explained to investors that their payments would yield substantial returns when the deals closed. However, Corna was not involved in rehabilitating any of the properties. In two of the cases, he simply cashed the investors’ checks ($2,500 and $3,000) and kept the money. In the third case, the victim’s $11,000 investment was used to purchase a property, for which Corna received a $9,200 commission.

“Mr. Corna made false promises and told outright lies to profit from this investment scheme,” Petro said. “Furthermore, Mr. Corna is not even licensed with the Ohio Department of Commerce as a broker or a loan officer.”

The Upper Arlington Police Department (UAPD), which led the investigation, said Corna operates a business at 5300 McKitrick Blvd. in Columbus called Sunrise Mortgage. Corna also has used the names Mortgage Services of Ohio and Merchants Financial.

“In every case, Mr. Corna promised huge returns on short-term investments, but never delivered,” said UAPD Lt. Greg Patrick. “We urge anyone who has had similar dealings with Mr. Corna to contact us with their stories.”

If you have any information about Corna, contact UAPD Det. Jeff Conrad at (614) 583-5164.

The Columbus Mortgage Fraud Task Force is comprised of Petro’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, UAPD, the Columbus Division of Police Economic Crime Unit, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service, Office of Inspector General for Housing and Urban Development, Ohio Department of Insurance and Franklin County Prosecutor's Office.