A Fishers man faces multiple felony charges of securities violations, money laundering and corrupt business influence following an investigation by the Indiana Securities Division and other agencies.
According to an announcement from Secretary of State Diego Morales, Darrin Blaine was arrested Oct. 12 at his home in Fishers. The charges against him relate to complaints received by the Indiana Securities Division relating to an alleged Ponzi scheme.
According to court documents, Blaine was operating as chief legal officer under laser-sensor technology company Akamai Physics Inc. and its subsidiary Porrima Photonix, Inc., and as chairman of Laser Tech Investment Club.
According to the probable cause statement filed in court, Blaine’s Laser Tech Investment Club was created to draw investors into API and PPI. The statement alleges that an investigator analyzed the companies’ accounts and found no deposits related to any business activity. Nearly all deposits — more than 98 percent — were from investors.
“(The investigator) found repeated use of PPI investor money to pay API expenses and to make payments to PPI and API investors,” the statement alleges. “Blaine also used the proceeds of new investor deposits to make payments to a previous investor and to make payments on a loan in the name of Smith Blaine.”
Blaine’s LinkedIn profile, which lists his occupation as an intellectual property attorney, includes an alternate name of “Smith Blaine.”
The companies allegedly collected about $1.4 million from investors in Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Virginia and Alberta, Canada. The eight Indiana investors allegedly lost $680,000.
“The financial investors in this case placed their hard-earned money into the hands of someone whom they thought they could trust,” Morales stated in the announcement. “Instead, the victims’ money fell into the hands of a bad actor who used the investors’ funds for personal use. Our office will continue to seek justice for these Hoosier investors and hopefully restore some trust back to the victims.”
According to Hamilton County Court records, Blaine was released from jail Oct. 18 on $200,000 bail. A trial date has been set for Feb. 6.
Anyone who invested with Blaine or the companies Akamai Physics Inc., Porrima Photonix, Inc. and Laser Tech Investment Club, are asked to contact the Indiana Securities Division at 317-232-6681, or online at securities.sos.in.gov.
