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Clearwater Finance Company Guilty Of Fraud In Civil Trial

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By MARK  DOUGLAS | News Channel 8

Published: November 17, 2008

A six-member jury has ruled against a Clearwater-based company accused of defrauding the owner of a crane company in Illinois by taking prepayment for a crane lease and giving nothing in return.

That complaint is one of dozens leveled at Global Funding LLC by irate customers. Some of those complaints are under investigation by four government agencies.

In a civil trial that unfolded today in a Pinellas courtroom, Marty Vogel, who owns a business called "The Crane Guy," said that after he sent Global a check for $4,183.46, the company stopped taking his phone calls and never returned the money.

Global Funding Managing Member Jeffrey Maricle said his wife faxed and e-mailed Vogel after he signed a contract proposal and sent money, but that Vogel failed to supply the credit information needed to underwrite a lease.

CPA Gilbert McArthur, hired by Vogel as an expert witness for his lawsuit, estimated Vogel's damages at $115,394.38 based on additional money Vogel had to pay for a more expensive crane when the Global Funding deal collapsed.

After deliberating for an hour, the jury ruled Global Funding LLC is guilty of breach of contract, of breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing, and fraud in the inducement.

The Florida Attorney General's Office is investigating at least 45 complaints made by other customers who say Global failed to return advance payments when equipment lease deals turned sour.

A staff attorney with the Attorney General's Office who attended Vogel's civil trial today estimated that Global customers claim as much as $200,000 in unreturned refunds.

Three other government agencies are also investigating the company's business practices.

Maricle says he was simply following "industry standards," when he kept some or all of his customers' advance payments for leases that never reached fruition because the customers didn't fulfill their end of the bargain.

Maricle says his company shut down at the end of October due to the failing economy. "Lending sources dried up," Maricle testified.

A six member jury that spent the day listening to testimony and arguments in the case began deliberating a verdict shortly after 5 p.m. and returned a verdict about an hour later.

Reporter Mark Douglas can be reached at mdouglas@wfla.com or (727) 536-9603.

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