Huron Man Pleads Guilty in Chill-Can Investment Scheme
Garry Savage Sr. of Huron recently pleaded guilty to 23 criminal counts involving an investment scheme tied to the failed Chill-Can plant near downtown Youngstown. The Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Securities revealed that Savage pleaded guilty to charges as an individual and on behalf of Coast to Coast Chill Inc., his company. This guilty plea comes after an investigation and subsequent criminal referral from the Ohio Division of Securities to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
The investment scheme in question revolved around diverting investor funds to pay himself, repay other investors, and withholding material facts from investors. The scheme involved Savage selling investments in Coast to Coast Chill, Inc., a Nevada corporation, to 18 Ohio investors. These funds were meant to be invested into the Joseph Company International to construct a plant in Youngstown to produce self-chilling beverage cans. However, according to the indictment from November 2021, the investors’ money was misused.
According to Ohio Securities Commissioner Andrea Seidt, securities laws are in place to protect investors from fraud and deception. The Ohio Division of Securities remains committed to ensuring that victims have the chance to seek justice and restitution. Savage pleaded guilty to charges including securities fraud, selling unregistered securities, deceptive conduct as an investment adviser representative, and theft.
Savage is currently in the Erie County Jail, where he has been held since August 2022. His sentencing is scheduled for December 30, as disclosed in a news release from the Ohio Department of Commerce.
In a separate development, the former Chill-Can plant site’s sheriff’s sale was recently canceled. Youngstown intends to file a court motion to use the Mahoning County auditor’s appraised value for the property in a future sale. Due to valuation uncertainties surrounding the 21-acre site, the sale could not proceed as planned. The city is preparing a court motion to use the auditor’s value as the sale price, which is approximately $2 million.
Youngstown and MS Consultants Inc. are the primary parties in the foreclosure case against M.J. Joseph, the parent company of the Chill-Can project, which abandoned the property. The city plans to purchase the site for future development and intends to use the sum it’s owed, along with owning properties adjacent to the Chill-Can site, to facilitate the purchase. The project was initially expected to bring economic revitalization to Youngstown’s lower East Side but never came to fruition.
Mitchell Joseph, the head of M.J. Joseph, filed for bankruptcy in May 10 under Chapter 13 protection but the case was dismissed on July 11. The future of the Chill-Can site and its associated projects remain uncertain amid ongoing legal proceedings and financial complications.
