A man who allegedly swindled the widow of slain Denver police officer Donnie Young out of $776,700 has been indicted by the Denver grand jury for racketeering, securities fraud and theft.
The indictment, unsealed today, said Young’s widow, Kelly Young, invested a total of $794,000 with Xavier Joseph Duran, but was only repaid $17,300 by Duran.
In addition, Young’s sister, Tracy London, invested $62,999 to Duran, none of which was ever repaid, according to the indictment.
The Denver district attorney’s office said that Duran, 43, was indicted for racketeering, four counts of securities fraud and three counts of theft for allegedly stealing more than a million dollars from Colorado investors, including Young and London.
Donnie Young was ambushed on May 8, 2005 as he provided security at the Salon Ocampo social hall, 1733 W. Mississippi Ave. Raul Gomez-Garcia was convicted of second-degree murder and was convicted in October 2006.
According to the grand jury, in May 2006, Kelly Young met Sheryl Schwartz while attending the National Police Week in Washington, D.C. Schwartz had also been married to a police officer who had passed away and was the Colorado chapter president for “COPS” – Concern of Police Officer Survivors.
The grand jury said that as a result of her husband’s death, Young and her two children had received a large amount of money through donations, insurance policy payouts and other sources.
Young asked Schwartz if Schwartz knew anyone Young could invest money with and Schwartz introduced both Young and London to Duran, who Schwartz had known in high school.
Duran’s pitch to the women, according to the grand jury, was that he used investors’ money to purchase properties that were “run down” or in foreclosure. He said that by using investors’ money to pay for the properties, he held them “free and clear,” without loans or other encumbrances.
Young and London believed that Duran renovated the properties and then rented them and his profits were derived from the rents received on the properties, said the indictment.
The indictment alleged that Duran promised Young and London a high interest rate of return on their investments, varying between 4 percent and 10.75 percent.
The grand jury alleged that Duran claimed the investments were “risk free” or “perfectly safe” and that he held the properties “free and clear.”
What Duran failed to tell Young and London and other investors was that he was using new investors’ money to pay off prior investors, to pay his personal expenses, to pay his other business ventures and was using purchased properties as collateral for loans, encumbering the properties.
Duran is in custody in Addison, Texas where he was arrested on Wednesday. Extradition proceedings are pending, according to the Denver district attorney’s office.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
