Report: Former Lorain County judge wore wire to catch con man

Former Lorain County Judge Paulette Lilly wore a wire to help Westlake police trap an alleged con man who took $200,000 of her money in a Ponzi scheme, according to testimony in federal court in Cleveland. The revelation came out of a four-day trial in U.S. District Court where Raymond Erker, 51, of Avon, was facing federal conspiracy, fraud and money laundering charges based on allegations he defrauded customers of his Westlake investment firm between 2013 and 2018. Erker pleaded not guilty to 12 charges including conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements under oath. Erker owned multiple companies that included the name "Sageguard," such as Sageguard Consulting, Sageguard Sourcing, Sageguard Technology and others. Lilly once represented Erker in a divorce case, Cleveland.com reported, and also invested money with him. Cleveland.com reported that Lilly worked with Westlake police in November 2018, meeting with Erker at a restaurant while wearing a wire. According to a tape of the meeting quoted by Cleveland.com, Erker admitted he "f----- up" and that Lilly could sue him or have him thrown in prison. Federal prosecutors gave their closing arguments in front of Judge Dan Aaron Polster on Monday, Cleveland.com reported. They called him a con man, while his defense attorney said Erker put thousands of dollars of his own money into the business and never meant to cause harm, Cleveland.com reported. Co-defendant Tara Brunst, 47, of Olmsted Falls, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud for her part in the scheme in federal court in January, and is awaiting sentencing, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Kevin Krantz, 56, of Olmsted Falls, also was charged as a result of the alleged scheme, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud in federal court on Feb. 17 and is awaiting sentencing, according to federal court records. Brunst and Krantz worked with Erker at a Westlake investment firm that federal investigators said stole more than $9.3 million from its clients. Federal court documents said Brunst was a licensed investment adviser for Erker, and that her and his alleged co-defendants stole from their clients over a five-year period from January 2013 through January 2018. They sold investments that they said were annuities and secured notes with no risk of loss and a guaranteed return, but instead took client funds and put them in their own personal bank accounts or diverted them to other businesses they controlled. Fake offices were set up in Delaware and Nevada, and fake websites and fake account statements created, according to an investigation by the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Securities, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Westlake Police Department. Lilly currently is chief assistant criminal prosecutor for the Erie County Prosecutor's Office. She served 12 years as a Lorain County Domestic Relations judge but lost her bid for a third term to David Berta in the 2006 general election. Before that, Lilly was an assistant Lorain County prosecutor for six years and an assistant prosecutor for the city of Elyria for five years.