Investors cheat local developer, lawsuit claims

Fifth Third Bank seeks $10M owed to Dillin Investments

Dillin Investments LLC, which was Larry Dillin's investment firm, was defrauded of millions of dollars from four people involved with three investment funds in 2009, Fifth Third Bank alleges in a federal lawsuit.

Levis Commons developer Larry Dillin, who was experiencing financing problems, was defrauded for millions of dollars from four people involved with three investment funds in 2009, Fifth Third Bank alleges in a federal lawsuit.

In its suit in U.S. District Court in Toledo, the bank alleges that three investment funds were fraudulent entities created as part of a scheme to get $2 million from Dillin Investments LLC, which was Mr. Dillin's investment firm. Mr. Dillin is not a party to the suit.

Named as defendants are Lonny and Lisa Remmers, of Corona, Calif.; Mark D. Aller of Birmingham, Mich.; Mark Wittenmyer of Holland; and the three funds: New Dimension Fund LLC of Irvine, Calif., Trinity World Holdings LLC of Carson City, Nev., and Ananias World Fund LLC of Sausalito, Calif.

The bank says Mr. Dillin was introduced in spring, 2009, to Mr. Wittenmyer, who described a new investment fund, New Dimension, that was in its initial stages and required $2 million in start-up funds. The defendants told Mr. Dillin New Dimension was backed by Trinity World Holdings, which was owned by the Remmers and held a 50 percent share in Ananias World Fund, a "250-billion-dollar asset fund," the lawsuit contends.

Mr. Dillin borrowed $2 million to give to the investment funds, and received a note from them that said the funds would pay him back his $2 million, plus give him another $8 million as his investment stake in their projects. But that didn't occur.

In April, 2010, he signed over the funds' $2 million note to Fifth Third as a repayment for earlier loans he had from the bank. Fifth Third has sued the funds to try to collect on the $10 million owed to Mr. Dillin.

Neither a spokesman for the bank nor its attorneys could be reached for comment. Mr. Dillin declined to comment. None of the defendants could be located for comment Friday.

In its suit, the bank alleges all three funds were fraudulent entities created as part of a scheme to get $2 million from Dillin Investments, which Mr. Dillin used to finance other projects. The bank said New Dimension did pay Mr. Dillin $125,000 payment, but nothing more, and defaulted on the note in June, 2010. That resulted in Mr. Dillin defaulting on the loan he took out for the $2 million he gave to the funds.

According to the lawsuit, "At all relevant times, New Dimension was intended by [the] Defendants to be a fraudulent enterprise to defraud investors, including [Mr.] Dillin and Dillin Investments." Ananias held no assets and no active clients, the suit states.

Contact Jon Chavez at: jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128.