“We need the public’s help in finding Mr. Johnson,” said Greene County Prosecutor Stephen K. Haller. “They can do so by contacting their local law enforcement agency or the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.”
Johnson is described as a white male, 6 feet 2 inches and 200 pounds, with blue eyes and light brown hair.
Haller said authorities believe Johnson was recently in Louisville, Ky., before returning to the Springfield area.
Greene County officials have already indicted Johnson’s alleged criminal partners, Timothy L. Henery and Christopher L. Gibbs.
The case is being investigated by the Greene County A.C.E. Task Force, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, the Ohio Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Division, West Chester police and Kettering police.
Authorities said the original scams allegedly happened twice each in Butler, Franklin and Montgomery counties and once in Greene County, a Bellbrook case that started the probe.
Since the case involves several counties, Jonathan Blanton, a principal assistant with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, has been sworn in as a special prosecutor to help prosecute this case. Blanton and Sandra Lynskey, who is chief of the Consumer Protection Section in the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, also attended the press conference.
“We’re being aggressive about these cases and prosecuting them heavily,” said Lynskey, who urged people to be wary in the wake of recent storm damage. “Senior citizens, a vulnerable population in the state of Ohio, have been taken advantage of.”
Authorities suspect there may have been other victims of the scam and are encouraging them to contact authorities.
Henery, 35, and Gibbs, 24, are currently indicted on seven counts apiece ranging from theft from an elderly person to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity to conspiracy and complicity.
By getting victims to believe the trees were diseased, damaged or unsafe, police said the trio collected checks for work either they never performed or completed. The indictment said their criminal enterprise infiltrated multiple legitimate tree-trimming companies to obtain credibility.
Gibbs pleaded guilty in April to similar offenses in both Montgomery and Butler counties and is currently in Clark County Jail on unrelated charges.
Greene County Jail records indicate Henery left there on July 1 after paying a $100,000 bond.
Gibbs and Henery will be arraigned July 22.
“We treated this as a criminal enterprise rather than as a simple theft offense,” Haller said. “That’s the approach we’re taking we’re going to take with these indictments.”
Anyone with information on Johnson’s whereabouts can call (937) 376-5111.
Anyone with information regarding the activities of the group can call the Ohio Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Division at (800) 282-0515.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-6951 or mgokavi@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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