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Embezzlers’ Linda, Scott Adair's property auctioned
The Vindicator ( Youngstown)
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Scott and Linda Adair’s house at 5305 Revere Run in Canfield and its contents went up for auction Thursday, about two months after they were convicted of embezzling more than $1 million from Scott Adair’s former business partner.
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George Roman Auctioneers Ltd. of Canfield ran Thursday’s public auction of Scott and Linda Adair’s former home at 5305 Revere Run in Canfield, and its contents. The money raised will be given, in part, to the victims of the couple’s multiyear embezzlement scheme for which they were convicted in June.
By Elise Franco
Canfield
Heat and rain didn’t deter a couple hundred people from spending hours bidding on what had been the home and belongings of Scott and Linda Adair.
George Roman Auctioneers Ltd., of Canfield, conducted an auction Thursday on the contents and real estate at 5305 Revere Run, former home of the Adairs, who were convicted of embezzling more than $1.3 million.
The embezzlement occurred between October 2004 and December 2007 from Southwind Trucking Inc. in Austintown, of which Scott Adair was a partner.
On Thursday, more than 200 people gathered on the Revere Run lawn to bid on furniture, appliances, electronics, toys, vehicles and the house itself.
Auctioneer George Roman said about five people bid on the house. Bidding started at $200,000 and went on for about 15 minutes before a husband and wife offered the high bid at $275,000.
The couple declined to give their names, but the woman said she and her husband were happy about the outcome. “We’ve had our eye on it for a while,” she said.
Roman said the bid will be sent to the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s office for approval.
The market value of the 2,964- square-foot house is $284,300, according to the Mahoning County Auditor’s website. The Adairs forfeited the house and its contents as a part of their plea agreement.
Roman said he didn’t have a total dollar amount raised Thursday night.
“The auction went very well,” he said. “There were a lot of very spirited bidders.”
Austintown Detective Sgt. Kathy Dina said she hopes the total collected will be enough to give something substantial back to the victims.
“My hope is just that we could get the most money for everything,” she said. “The more money made, the more the victims get back.”
Scott Adair, 51, pleaded guilty June 13 to aggravated grand theft, tampering with records, telecommunication fraud and two counts of money laundering — all third-degree felonies. He also pleaded to one fourth-degree felony count of telecommunication fraud.
Each third-degree felony charge brings with it the potential for up to five years in the penitentiary and up to $10,000 in fines. The fourth-degree felony charge carries a potential sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
Linda Adair, 53, pleaded guilty to one count of complicity to commit theft — a fourth-degree felony. She faces up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
The pair will be sentenced at 10 a.m. next Friday before Judge Lou A. D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.