California man accused of defrauding a convicted Baldwin County fraudster Page 1 of 2 Case 3:11-cv-00726-M-BH Document 394-6 Filed 03/19/14

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EXHIBIT 302

California man accused of defrauding a convicted Baldwin County fraudster

Theresa Seiger | tseiger@al.com By Theresa Seiger | tseiger@al.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on December 13, 2013 at 5:22 PM, updated December 13, 2013 at 7:47 PM ROBERTSDALE, Alabama -- A California man is facing charges in Baldwin County, accused of defrauding a man previously convicted on 13 counts of similar charges, according to the Alabama Securities Commission and court records. John Thomas Childs IV, 46, of Danville, Calif., turned himself into the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday, according to ACS. He is facing two counts of fraud in the sale of securities. The charges stem from January 2009, according to court records, when Childs accepted investor funds gathered through a Robertsdale man identified as Richard James Tucker and his business, Synergy Finance Group, LLC, as part of a "prime
John Thomas Childs IV, 46, was booked into the Baldwin County Corrections Facility on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2013. (Courtesy of the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office)

bank" investment scam. Tucker was found guilty in 2012 of 13 charges related to securities fraud,

according to court records. The U.S. Department of the Treasury describes prime bank investment programs as those which "offer secret, private investment markets, which purport to offer above average market returns with below market risk through the trading of bank instruments." The Department says such programs are non-existent, as are the "secret markets" from which schemers say banks trade securities.

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California man accused of defrauding a convicted Baldwin County fraudster Page 2 of 2 Case 3:11-cv-00726-M-BH Document 394-6 Filed 03/19/14 Page 2 of 2 PageID 4656

Childs was indicted on both counts in November, officials with ASC said. Court records show Childs allegedly took broker fees from investment funds supplied by Synergy Finance Group, LLC, without telling the company. The money was then used for unspecified "non-investment purposes." It's unclear how much money was allegedly lost in the scheme. According to records from the California Secretary of State, Childs is the listed agent for A-Z Consulting, LLC, a company registered in the Golden State since 2010. He lists his home address as an apartment in Dublin, Calif., according to records from the Baldwin County Corrections Facility. A-Z Consulting LLC is registered in nearby Danville, Calif. Childs was released on a $100,000 cash bond shortly after his arrest. Various conditions were placed on his bond. Among other things, Childs was required to surrender his passport and stay in Alabama unless the court allows him to leave. He is scheduled to be back in court in January 2014 for an arraignment.

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