National Lampoon CEO Gets 50 Years in Prison on Fraud Case

This is no laughing matter. At least for National Lampoon CEO Timothy S. Durham.

Durham, who was convicted of financial fraud and conspiracy in June, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for his part in a $200 million fraud scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday.

Also read: National Lampoon CEO Convicted of Financial Fraud, Conspiracy

Durham, 50, was also sentenced to serve two years supervised release by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.

The sentence stems from Durham's stint as CEO of Ohio-based Fair Financial Company. According to his trial, Durham, along with Fair chairman James F. Cochran and CFO Rick D. Snow misrepresented the financial condition of Fair between 2005 and 2009, bilking investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Also read: National Lampoon CEO Fails to Dismiss $200M Fraud Case

Durham was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud and six counts of wire fraud.

Cochran was also sentenced to 25 years in prison on Friday, while Snow was sentenced to 10 years. The trio was also ordered to pay $208 million in restitution.

"The lengthy prison sentences handed down today are just punishment for a group of executives who built a business on smoke and mirrors," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer. "By deliberately misleading their investors and state regulators, Mr. Durham and his co-conspirators were able defraud thousands of innocent investors. The Justice Department will continue to devote considerable time and resources to ensure that fraudsters like Mr. Durham, Mr. Cochran and Mr . Snow are brought to justice for their crimes."

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

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