BATAVIA TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Batavia Township resident Cody Winn has been indicted on over 100 charges after allegedly scamming people out of over $1 million, according to the Clermont County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff's office announced that Winn was indicted on 62 counts of theft and 31 counts of telecommunications fraud. WCPO obtained a second indictment, bringing the total number of charges to 102.
CCSO said that initially, $965,500 was stolen. The second indictment brought the total to over $1 million.
According to the sheriff's office, Winn acted as someone named "Cody Clay" from a business called Market Modern LLC.
CCSO said someone in California reported the interaction, where they were promised an investment opportunity and told they'd receive a full return within three months.
Carmy Michael reached out to us and identified himself as the one who reported the allegations to police.
WATCH: We looked into the latest from the criminal case against the alleged scammer
Michael gave $25,000 to fund the creation of an automated Amazon store, but according to the sheriff's office, he saw months of no progress and could not contact anyone about the investment.
After receiving the report, CCSO began an investigation, leading them to Winn.
Deputies said during the investigation, it was discovered that Winn was operating a YouTube channel marketing his business plan to potential clients. He was responsible for collecting investor payments and forwarding the funds to a separate global e-commerce company operating across multiple counties, CCSO said.
According to multiple testimonies, Winn was involved in the operation between March and October 2023. Deputies said he failed to send several investors their payments and could not be contacted for a refund.
CCSO said Winn reportedly stole from people across several states, including:
- Arizona
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Michigan
- New York
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Michael said he made the investment after coming across one of Winn's ads. But shortly after, he said he realized something may be wrong.
“I got a message with a link to click, saying click this link, and then you will receive the package to get started. And I clicked the link, and there was Cody on it laughing, and saying, 'Goodbye,' and then everything disappeared," Michael said.
We reached out to Ravert J. Clark, who confirmed he is Winn's criminal defense attorney. He said plea negotiations have taken place, but nothing is set in writing at this time.
The Clermont County Prosecutor's Office said they have no comment.
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Michael said an assistant prosecutor working on the case informed the victims that there may be a plea deal. We asked Michael what he thinks the penalties should be.
“Justice would be, repay us, full restitution, at the same time, being stopped from doing that to other people," Michael said.
Court records show that Winn's next court appearance is set for April 21.
