By James McNair
The Cincinnati Enquirer

George Fiorini: honest, hard-working coral calcium salesman? Or compulsive swindler?

Fiorini, of Miami Township in Hamilton County, stands accused of 79 counts of fraud, money laundering and income tax evasion. He says he's innocent. And to prove he'd gone straight, he told a federal judge in May that he had taken a job selling coral calcium, an unregulated nutritional supplement.

The government says otherwise. Friday, Assistant U.S. Attorney John DiPuccio told the same judge that Fiorini launched a fraudulent car-buying scheme sometime during the summer - while free on bond. DiPuccio said the investigation might result in additional criminal charges. Meantime, he asked U.S. Senior Judge Herman Weber to revoke Fiorini's bond.

The prosecutor said he began investigating Fiorini's latest business activities after reading an Enquirer story about Fiorini's purchase of a 2003 Buick Century for a woman owed $35,000 by Fiorini's defunct 10 Percent Income Plus Plan. The woman told the Enquirer that Fiorini took care of her monthly payments. To DiPuccio, the deal smelled fishy.

This is what DiPuccio said he learned: Fiorini told at least six people that if they bought a new car, he would take their factory rebates, invest the money and assume their monthly payments. Two people went along. They borrowed enough money from a bank to cover sales taxes, then gave that portion of the loan to Fiorini, who agreed to pay the tax. He didn't, and now the car owners' temporary tags have expired.

DiPuccio calls that fraud. He said Fiorini committed another crime by telling General Motor Acceptance Corp., in an application for the financing of a $50,000 vehicle, that he earned $160,000 last year through a Nevada corporation called GMNV Corp. That, DiPuccio said, was a false statement.

Fiorini is awaiting trial. He is accused of defrauding investors of $1.4 million through a heavily advertised promissory note scheme that promised returns of at least 10 percent. The company he worked for, Guardian Investments, raised about $13.5 million for a medical-waste disposal business that failed.

Fiorini denied committing any crimes while free on bond. His court-appointed public defender, Kelly Johnson, told Weber that he had just become aware of the allegations. Weber gave Fiorini a week to defend himself and scheduled a bond revocation hearing for next Friday.

Weber was nevertheless incensed to hear that Fiorini had violated travel restrictions by making frequent trips to Richmond, Ind. DiPuccio said Fiorini went to Richmond in August and September to help his new clients set up bank accounts and buy vehicles.

E-mail jmcnair@enquirer.com.