WARREN Canfield man jailed in fraud case

A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A 41-year-old Canfield man who failed to show for a court appearance on charges that he bilked an elderly couple out of thousands of dollars is in the Trumbull County Jail without bond.
Daniel Farah surrendered to Girard authorities Monday and was taken to jail. Court officials do not know why Farah went to Girard authorities. Girard officials could not be reached to comment.
Farah is scheduled to appear Thursday in the courtroom of Judge John Stuard of common pleas court. Farah, who was free on a $2,500 bond, failed to show up for a court hearing Aug. 23.
Court officials said when Farah did not appear, a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Another matter: Prosecutors said Boardman police have also placed a hold on Farah, which means he is not to be let out of jail before those officers talk to him.
A dispatcher with the Boardman police said she is not allowed to state why a hold was placed on Farah and detectives could not be reached to comment.
Farah was secretly indicted by a grand jury earlier this month on five counts of theft.
Latest charge: Officials say Farah took $15,800 from an elderly Vienna Township couple.
LuWayne Annos, an assistant county prosecutor, said Farah met the couple's son in April when the two were inmates at the Mahoning County Jail.
The couple's son is serving time in a federal prison on drug charges. He was in the county jail at the time awaiting an appearance in federal court.
Farah was in the Mahoning County lockup after being arrested on a charge of receiving stolen property.
When Farah was released, he contacted the couple and told them if they gave him money, he could get an attorney that would be able to help their son.
Annos said the couple thought the attorney would be able to get their son's sentence reduced.
Officials said the couple gave Farah five payments before they contacted authorities.
His conviction: Court officials stated that Farah was released two years ago from a federal prison after serving two years on a fraud conviction. Federal court records say that Farah bilked an Ashtabula man out of $25,300 by telling him the money was being invested.
Federal prosecutors said at the time that Farah was operating his investment fraud by long-distance telephone calls while he was in federal prisons on unrelated fraud convictions.
sinkovich@vindy.com