Small town finance guy facing big time troubles

By Patricia Bogumil

Editor

      A Village of Waterford man allegedly reached the upper echelons of white-collar crime while running an international securities fraud scheme out of his town house in the Foxmead subdivision.

      James C. Warras, 67, is among six men indicted this week on fraud charges filed by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.

      In a parallel action, Warras and the others also were criminally charged by the U.S. Department of Justice.

      The charges come five months after agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant at Warras’s residence, 719 Fox Lane, at about 2 p.m., July 17.

      The heavy police presence that day attracted the attention of customers at the nearby McDonald’s and BP gas station, as well as other businesses, residents and drivers in the area.

      But the bust-in could have been a lot noisier and dramatic.

      Federal agents requested local help to make entry to Warras’s residence without having to knock down the door, explained Town Police Chief Tom Ditscheit.

      A town officer, who had previous contact with Warras, knew the building’s landlord lived nearby. He was able to assist by obtaining a key from the owner after no one answered the door to the agents’ knocking and bellringing, said Ditscheit.

      Town police then stood by as the warrant was executed. At the time of the search, the village’s officer was busy with other duties and not available, he explained.

      For the full story, see the Dec. 20, 2013 edition of the Waterford Post.