Lexington Lawyer, Bryan S. Coffman, Is Indicted In $34 Million Oil And Gas Scam.

Lexington lawyer is indicted in $34 million oil and gas scam
By Bill Estep - bestep@herald-leader.com

A Lexington lawyer took part in a long-running scheme to fleece investors of more than $34 million selling fraudulent investment programs to drill oil and gas wells, a federal grand jury charged Friday.

Bryan S. Coffman and his wife, Megan, both 46, were named in the 30-count indictment along with Gary Milby, 55, of Campbellsville and Vadim "Victor" Tsatskin, 36, of Ontario, Canada.

Brian Coffman, Milby and Tsatskin are charged with mail fraud and wire fraud. The Coffmans also face 11 counts of laundering money from the alleged scam.

The fraud raked in money from hundreds of investors in several states and countries by promising big returns from wells in south-central Kentucky that were actually "dry holes" in many cases, or which had little potential to produce as pledged, according to the indictment and a motion in a related lawsuit.

Coffman apparently is the same person who ran for 6th District U.S. representative in the Republican primary in 2004, and also ran for the Urban County Council in 2006, both times unsuccessfully.

That candidate listed the same home address as the Bryan Coffman named in an affidavit related to the new criminal charges. The affidavit is included in a lawsuit the government filed last year in an attempt to seize money and property — including a yacht — in Lexington and Charleston, S.C., from the Coffmans.

A man who answered the phone at a number listed for Coffman refused to comment Friday.

In a 2004 response to a Herald-Leader endorsement of another candidate, Coffman said he was a man of vision, courage, values and integrity. He promised that if elected "I will never place myself in a compromising situation or bring shame to the office." A magistrate judge ordered the Coffmans and Milby to appear in court Dec. 16. He issued an arrest warrant for Tsatskin.

The four face up to 20 years on the wire- and mail-fraud charges if convicted, while the Coffmans also face up to 20 years on the money-laundering charges, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney James Zerhusen.

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Editor's comment: Actually, the lawyer, if the allegations against him prove to be true, could have made a GREAT Kentucky politician!

Wink!!