Would you pay R30,000 for this view?

I came across this blog when I Googled “Brian Dinning”. I did that since I have heard “through the e-grape vine” that there is opposition to the social enterprises he is helping with in Africa. I think actions say more than words. I saw the actions of Mr. Dinning during my 4-week volunteer visit to the Wild Coast in Africa. As a Human Resources professional for a top North American Bank I volunteers and paid for the costs to visit and interview the people of this regoin in order to understand their employment and training needs. I did this due to the vision that Mr. Dinning shared about establishing community owned social enterprises to provide employment in the Wild Coast. I believe social enterprises are the answer to provide sustained upliftment to people that have little hope. I personal used Mr. Dinning’s social enterprise model to help three groups of inner city youth, in North America, to set up their own computer refurbishing and carpentry businesses. These enterprises were so successful that they were able to send over 40 computers to schools in Africa with help from Mr. Dinning for shipment, along with his donations of medial equipment, clothes, desks, and children’s bicycles. Social Enterprises are recent developments to partner for-profit and non-profit enterprises for social betterment. These are not easy to establish since most banks and investors do not see it as viable business model. Also, most foundations don’t want to help since the enterprises will generate a profit. So, visionaries, let Mr. Dinning are in a tough spot to fund the “seed” investment. Through his passion to see needy people enabled to help themselves Mr. Dinning has shared his vision to attract socially sensitive investors and volunteers. To establish an enterprise to help tribal communities develop ecotourism is not an easy task, a host of for-profit and non-profit organizations are needed just keep everything legal and keep the ownership of the land in the hands of the communities. Also, dealing with developing communities can be time consuming, beyond most development timelines, in order to accommodate community and environmental concerns. I’m one of the dozens off volunteers that have helped, not only with ecotourism, but helping with real needs such as food, building reconstruction, water, and support for orphanages. My memory of seeing Mr. Dinning cooking and serving food for more than 200 community people is very different than the image of a NY Lawyer. At this event a community leader thanked Mr. Dinning saying “My heart is uplifted by not only with help for employment, but, with the concerns for our Spirits”. The ecotourism started to generate funds two months ago and will soon relate to sustainable employment. I think the world needs more layers like Mr. Dinning.

I have known of Mr. Dinning's work for years. In 1992 to 1994, he assisted in researching and drafting a legal textbook on how to partner NGOs and business to achieve non-profit goals and purposes. He has brought this knowledge on sustainable development to the Wild Coast of South Africa. The "community transformation" model is a model whereby a job creation project such as a small guest lodge is established in partnership between business and the local community. Jobs are created, skills are transferred, education and a future hope are also created for the community. NGOs such as churches, missions groups, orphan care programs are then invited to partner with the community as well to further provide benefits. Finally, micro enterprise projects are promoted so that many guest house patron needs such as arts and crafts can be established promoting further economic growth. According to Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Professor at Columbia University and head of EarthWatch Institute, stated in his recent book that these types of small community projects are the start to economic freedom in the communities in Africa. Thus, I applaud the efforts of Brian Dinning to help the rural community in Africa. Finally, until anyone has logged in the hundreds and perhaps even thousands of hours that Mr. Dinning has put in to help the rural communities on the Wild Coast, they should not criticize. If you want to make your voice or actions heard, then go to the Wild Coast and do some missions work with the local community for yourself.

Transforming Communities on the Wild Coast I am a university professor and I head an international mentoring organization which works in South Africa as well as in various countries around the world. I have been to the Wild Coast several times now beginning in 2003. In August 2007, I was part of a missions team that assisted in renovating a church at Hole in the Wall and in providing food and clothing to the local people. I worked side by side with Brian Dinning in rebuilding this church. I also watched as he personally cooked food and served over 200 local people after a church service we all attended wherein we dedicated the new church. I also help Mr. Dinning in providing mentoring and coaching materials for the local community in South Africa along with Unlimited Group from Toronto, Canada. I am pleased to be working alongside Mr. Dinning and totally support his efforts on the Wild Coast.

In March of 2002 - I met a man off the website match.com. He had a unique profile, a successful DC Attorney with  wonderful christian qualities including being a 'single (divorced) Dad to 2 amazing kids (daughter & son)'. After speaking together for over a month - we agreed to meet.  I flew to Washington DC to meet BRIAN DINNING. A lovely whirlwind romantic weekend it was - I admired him so much for calling and checking in with his kids, even introducing me to them over the phone! Our relationship was 'exclusive' - We talked at all hours of the day. Brian then flew to Los Angeles and we attended an event honoring Nicholas Cage at the Beverly Hilton. It was then Brian really opened up about his passion - the Earth Conservency and Pure Africa. He couldnt wait to take me on his next trip taking place in June (2002). Infact, Brian featured several pictures of himself in Africa on his match.com profile.Due to a previous relationship gone bad, I made a promise to myself to protect myself at all costs. I dont like surprises! After Brian's trip to Los ANgeles, I hired a private investigator to check everything out. Much to my shock - this is an abbreviated version of what the investigator found:-  Brian Dinning was/is married to Summer Dinning.- At the time, Summer and the children were living in Virginia Beach were Brian once practiced law (also practiced in Norfolk). He took a position with a DC firm and rented an apartment in Alexandria where he stayed during the week.  Weekends were spent at home in Virginia Beach WITH the kids and his WIFE. Brian and his family have been very involved with their local church.- Brian has been involved with a gentleman named Michael van der Merwe who is well-known for shady business practices especially foreign-based.My investigator was very thorough in his research. Two weeks after I saw Brian in Los Angeles, Icalled and confronted him - to which - he hung up on me. Ten minuted later, my investigator called and told me Brian had reposted his ad on match.com.Obviously, BRIAN DINNING has absolutely no moral compass. He is headed to hell - infact, I'll decorate a handbasket for him!

It surprises me that up to now everyone whoever came with developmental ideas for the wildcoast always comes from outside of that area.We now hear of nature conservationists, mining companies, road concessionaries from outside of the wildcoast. I would like to share with you that it is not a historical mistake that this is the most pristine coastline in South Africa. Perhaps the conservationists only need to applaud the people on the Wild coast in particular Pondoland for keeping this area as pristine as it is and leave it just like that.When will South Africans learn from each other's contributions and just appreciate instead of coming up with old colonial type despotic developmental policies. Please leave Pondoland to the Pondos in the same way self determination gets preached around elsewhere.

Actually his wife's name was Jill.  He was married (not seperated) to Jill until 2005 when he left her for his mistress named Summer.

To whom it may concern:I am an attorney in Norfolk, Virginia and I have been practicing law in the United States for 28 years.  I represent Brian Dinning and his business interests in the United States and his project-related interests in South Africa.  As a fellow attorney, I know that Brian Dinning is a hard-working man of integrity and he has been working diligently for a number of years on various community projects in South Africa.I also represent Mr. Dinning in two complaints by investors.  After a thorough review of all documentation in this matter, I am of the view that the complaints are without merit.  Further, I am advised that various individuals have been attempting to damage the reputation and projects of Mr. Dinning with the government, business contacts and communities in South Africa.  We are concerned that these actions against Mr. Dinning and his projects are harming the long term interests of the rural communities  that Mr. Dinning and others have been working so hard to assist.  We plan to vigorously and aggressively defend Mr. Dinning, his reputation, the projects and the interests of the rural communities in South Africa.  If you have any questions regarding Mr. Dinning, please feel free to contact me at any time.  My direct phone number is 757 446 8612.  Michael P. Cotter, EsquireVandeventer Black, LLP Law FirmAlso, there is a multi-million dollar counter claim against the investors in the United States for libel, slander, defamation of Mr. Dinning and interference with the business of Mr. Dinning, the community and the many supportive investors which will be aggressively prosecuted against them and others who engage in such actionable conduct. 

Please read thoroughly. Integrity?

Threatens his daughter with taking away the two things she cares about most, her education/tuition to Stonebridge School and her cell phone. There is no question in my mind what a wolf in sheeps clothing this man is. He seems able to snow everyone over, it's incredible. Threatens to not pay the child support he owes (to his daughter) if she will not visit him. If he doesn't pay, she doesn't get to continue in the school she loves. How can you weave such a terrible web with your own children? Summer should run and Jill is lucky to be rid of him. Now if he would just leave his kids alone...

It never ceases to amaze me how in such a city as Norfolk the characters like Dinning keep cropping up. I have been watching you from afar, Mr. Dinning, for five years. I have watched you con folks with Sunpoints International - a good thing you settled that. I have chatted with Mr. Shereshevsky while tracking you down. I was privy to your shenanigans with Huff, Poll and Mahoney and I found particularly amusing how you shunted a prominent faculty member's(Regent University in the Divinity School) assets to arrange for the services of - how would you call them? - "comfort women" in Africa. I had occasion to speak with you in your apartment in Alexandria and had occasion to speak as well with your mistress, also there. I have follwed the commentary of your various attorneys, latest of which is Mr. Byers, who seems to have gone the way of several others. I have quite a thick file on you, Mr. Dinning, and know you for what you are. And so that there is no confusion, the next time you read the entries on this blog, read mine carefully. Then walk through your elegant home and gaze fondly at your wife and think of Africa. And after you have done that, be hoinest with yourself and realize that your life is a sham and a house of cards that will eventually tumble down and you, too, can trade it all in for a lonesome, solitary, celibate(perhaps) government paid-for vacation lasting years.

He's slimy. Hope he gets what's coming to him. He's hurt a lot of people.

After months of delay, a Norfolk jury found Brian Dinning, a/k/a Ray Dinning (some days), liable to Danny and Debbie Murrill for $722,000 for his acts of misconduct, including fraud. It looks like the con is over.

I have recently been scanned by Brian Dinning! I have invested thousands of dollars with him and am just learning of these types of emails and of other people being scammed by him as well. How can I get in touch with Danny and Debbie Murrill? There is a group of about 10 of us who have invested with Brian and all the horror stores written above seem to mirror what we all have just been through. Help!! Brian is a shameless, heartless con-man and should be thrown in jail for many, many years!!!

I do not know about anyone else's circumstances. However, I have been to South Africa with Brian and have seen these projects firsthand. The projects on the Wild Coast of South Africa are truly amazing. The local people are getting jobs and there is actual construction at the sites I visited. There were six people on our trip and we were all amazed by the social benefit projects that Brian is working on. Before you cast stones, you should perhaps go see these projects yourself. It is easy to say words like scam and fraud but I can prove to you that the projects exist and are really helping people in need. Some of you should be ashamed of yourselves for the nasty things you have said about this man.

I was also just in South Africa and I am going again in November, 2010 to work at these projects which are helping the Xhosa people. I know dozens of people who are working hard to make a difference in the lives of people in Africa. Brian Dinning and others are working hard to create projects that help people with jobs and education. It is never easy or quick to work in Africa. I am encouraging Brian and a group of supporters to take action against the people who are interfering with and damaging these projects through careless and reckless statements which are hurting our investment and work.

Please see the blog "rotted apples" on Wordpress.com. It is eye opening. It is my understanding that the person instigating negativity about Brian Dinning is Jason Roper. His name has come up several times in conversations during the course of my investigation as the person behind all of this negativity. According to this blog, Jason Roper tried to commit suicide in December, 2009 and he was fired from his law firm. According to several lawyers I know, there are pending lawsuits and bar complaints against Jason Roper. Jason Roper and others are truly damaging these projects and their day in court is coming soon. Please be sure of and careful of the words you speak and write because you will be held accountable for them.

My wife and I live in Toronto. These were our comments from our own personal viewing of these projects. This IP address is from my work near Toronto. We did just visit with Brian and wholeheartedly support him and the projects. It appears as though you are trying to stop them maybe because you want to put a backpackers at Hole in the Wall on your own. For example, you quote articles above that do not exist on the website where they supposedly came from. It takes alot of people to help Africa. As Canada has named this the time for Africa to shine in the world and after a successful World Cup, let's all work together to help.

Jason Roper was the Murrill's attorney. How did he damage the projects by obtaining a fraud verdict against Dinning for in excess of $700,000?

I worked with Roper at his former firm. Kind of odd that the two bar complaints against Roper were filed by Brian R. Dinning and his attorney. Maybe that speaks to their merits and who is actually posting this information about Roper.

Below is an article posted to the Inside Business web page on Friday, October 15, 2010 with additional information about the Murrill lawsuit: http://insidebiz.com/news/attorney-seeks-quash-722000-jury-award By Mary Flachsenhaar mary.flachsenhaar@insidebiz.com In May a Norfolk jury ordered Brian R. Dinning, who lived in Suffolk until recently, to pay more than $722,000 to a Pennsylvania couple who sought legal guidance from Dinning, an attorney, in setting up what they intended to be a charity to help orphans in the African country of Malawi. Danny and Debra Murrill of Mechanicsburg, Pa., had sued Dinning in Norfolk Circuit Court on charges of fraud and breach of contract. Last month, Dinning and his wife, Sommer C. Dinning, who was also a defendant in the case, asked that the jury's verdict be set aside. In testimony at the trial, the Murrills said their dream, since they were married in 1982, has been to do missionary work, especially among children. They said they fell in love with the country of Malawi after working alongside missionaries there for a month in 2007. "We've lived a lot of different places," Danny Murrill said in his testimony in May. "And everywhere, we've done this type of work because we're addicted to it. We just love being with children, love being in the inner city, love being with the poor." They learned about Dinning in spring 2008 through a friend in their church, the Murrills testified in the May trial. Dinning, a tax attorney with a master's in taxation from Georgetown University and a juris doctorate from Regent University, specialized in structuring business ventures that blended for-profits and nonprofits with the aim of making money while also doing good. The Murrills testified that their friend told them Dinning had been doing humanitarian work in South Africa for years based on his for-profit and nonprofit business model. The Murrills testified that they expected they'd be living in Malawi soon after finalizing their deal with Dinning, along with one of their four adult children who's also committed to missionary work. The three Murrills would work to improve the quality of life for orphans through a charity they intended to call Children of Hope. Instead, the couple said in court testimony, they are living in a cramped apartment after selling their five-bedroom home in anticipation of relocating to Malawi; they are $115,000 in debt to the IRS; and they have little hope of ever fulfilling their missionary dreams, according to testimony they presented in the civil trial in May before a jury of seven women and Norfolk Circuit Judge Karen J. Burrell. The trial was held in Norfolk because Dinning's principal place of business, when he was advising the Murrills, was in Norfolk. That downtown office has since closed. In an e-mail to Inside Business last week, Dinning wrote, "I am no longer involved in any projects in South Africa other than as an adviser or consultant to people and businesses who wish to work in South Africa." The Murrills said in court they grew suspicious about Dinning when, after they had already invested $220,000 of their money through him, they found online news stories about lawsuits filed against Dinning by investors in some of his South African ventures. The suits, which were reported in Inside Business in 2008 and 2009, are similar in nature to the Murrills': After investors stroke a check to one of the businesses created by Dinning, the man whom they initially admired as a brilliant attorney, caring and committed to those living in poverty, nothing happens. According to investors interviewed by Inside Business since 2008, there has been no return on investment and no evidence of any significant progress on the South African projects. Three suits against Dinning were dismissed after they were settled out of court. A verdict has been reached in the Murrills' suit and another two are pending. A trial in September 2009, in which the Murrills initially made the fraud and breach of contract allegations against Dinning, ended in a mistrial when Danny Murrill made reference to previous lawsuits against Dinning after the judge had banned their mention. In September of this year, Dinning and his wife filed a motion to strike the Murrill case with the court, claiming that the jury verdict in May was without merit and basis. Their motion is now before the judge and they are awaiting her response. According to a transcript of the Murrills' May 2010 court testimony, this is how the couple described their expections of the deal they were entering into with Dinning: To fulfill their dream of doing missionary work, the couple intended to use the $220,000 in retirement money Danny was about to receive through an employee stock-owned company where he had once worked. They knew they'd be heavily taxed if they just took the cash payout, so when they learned about Dinning through their friend, they were hopeful he'd be able to devise a way for them to put the $220,000 toward their new life in Malawi without having to turn 45 percent of it over to the government. Dinning proposed to them an investment opportunity in one of his South African projects, an environmentally and socially conscious resort development called the Reserve at Hole in the Wall on the Indian Ocean. He intended for the resort to be a model in ecotourism and to provide employment for many South Africans living in poverty. Dinning told the Murrills he needed $250,000 to construct utilities for the resort. He offered to sell the couple three lots, at $50,000 each, assuring them that the lots, which were to be marketed by Sotheby's International Realty, were certain to sell for twice that amount in about six months. The Murrills intended to channel profits from that sale into Children of Hope. Dinning told them he would create a limited liability company, D&D Ventures LLC (for Danny and Debra), through which the Murrills could purchase the three lots. He also would create a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization called Children of Hope for their missionary work in Malawi and a bank account for it. The remaining $70,000 from Danny's employee stock ownership program would be funneled into Children of Hope. Dinning intended to do that through one of his established nonprofits, African Conservation International, according to testimony by both Dinning and the Murrills. The Murrills said in court that they agreed and wired $220,000 to ACI, as instructed by Dinning. When they received a receipt from ACI, thanking them for their donation to that nonprofit, they became confused. They thought that $150,000 of their money had gone for the purchase of three lots and that $70,000 was a contribution for Children of Hope. In August 2008, when the Murrills' doubts about Dinning began to mount, they discovered, with the help of an attorney, that D&D Ventures had never been set up, nor had a bank account for Children of Hope, according to their court testimony. The following month they sued Dinning, hoping they'd get their money back but fearful he'd already spent it on what the Murrills' attorney, Jason Roper, referred to in court as the Dinnings' "lavish lifestyle." According to Roper, this included a million-dollar home in the Riverfront section of Suffolk, fancy cars and frequent trips, Brian Dinning's monthly child support payments of $10,000, and private school tuition for his two children from a previous marriage. The Dinnings, said Roper, used African Conservation International as their "personal piggybank." Dinning, who represented himself in the Murrill trial while his wife was represented by an attorney, countered the plaintiffs' allegations in court. A breach of contract with the Murrills was impossible, he said, because there never was a contract, at least not one where he was the liable party. From the outset, the Murrills' money, he claimed, was intended to be a charitble contribution through ACI. "No one made any misrepresentations or misconduct toward the Murrills. The project was set up under ACI as they requested on May 16 [in 2008]," Dinning testified. "The simple fact is this case boils down to no matter what happened before and after, did the Murrills donate their money to ACI?" Dinning said in court. "I think the evidence clearly shows that they did." The proper resolution in the case, Dinning said, would be for the Murrills to amend their tax return, which they still are able to do, and designate their $220,000 a charitable contribution. That, he said, would take care of negative tax consequences. According to the Murrills' testimony, they owe the IRS $115,000 based on their ESOP windfall, and they are working with the agency to pay it down over time. They said they will not consider recasting the money as a charitable contribution eligible for a deduction. Dinning's plans have also collapsed. Negative publicity from the lawsuit caused Sotheby's to withdraw from marketing the Hole in the Wall project, Dinning said in court testimony. In last week's e-mail to Inside Business, he wrote, "The community at Hole in the Wall and the South African government have awarded the Hole in the Wall project to another South African development company, which is run by a South African professional team and [I] am no longer involved in the project at Hole in the Wall." Concerning the court case, he wrote in the e-mail, " [I] have filed a motion to strike/motion for reconsideration of the Murrill lawsuit. I believe the verdict of the jury is utterly without merit and is without any basis in law or fact and will be vigorously defended. In the event that Judge Burrell does not grant the motion to strike, [I] plan to appeal." During the trial in May charges against Brian Dinning's wife, Sommer, were struck down. The more than $722,000 the jury awarded the Murrills includes compensatory and punitive damages plus interest. Currently, Dinning is listed as an attorney with Rockville, Md.-based Kundra Associates Tax Attorneys on the firm's website, where he goes by the name Ray Dinning. He explained in his e-mail to Inside Business: "My name is Brian Ray Dinning and I have always been called by either name by friends, family and colleagues." The Dinnings' Suffolk home is for sale for $769,000, according to the website of real estate company William E. Wood. Through their attorney, Jason Roper, the Murrills declined to be interviewed for this story.nibib

I know of many people who was scammed by there guys... why are they gettinng away? Or are some of them locked up? Van der merwe is still on the loose...

Despite Mr. Dinning's assurances that the Court would grant his Motion to Strike the $722k verdict that a seven women jury rendered against him (see above), the Court denied Mr. Dinning's Motion to Strike on January 19, 2012. Thus, Mr. Dinning is now indebted to Dan and Debra Murrill in the amount of $722, plus interest from 2008 at 6% on a judgment this is nondischargeabe in bankruptcy (because of Mr. Dinning's fraud). The game is finally over Mr. Dinning. Time to pay up.

Tax lawyer indicted for wire fraud Posted: June 8, 2012 By Mary Flachsenhaar http://insidebiz.com/news/tax-lawyer-indicted-wire-fraud Brian Ray Dinning of Toronto, a tax attorney who used to live in a $975,000 home in Suffolk and run a business from an office in downtown Norfolk, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury on wire fraud charges in the Eastern District of Virginia. Dinning, 47, has been charged with 25 counts of wire fraud, each carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if he is convicted, in what the U.S. Attorney's office for the district refers to as a South African Ponzi scheme. Dinning is accused of using $2 million of investor money for personal gain. Over the years, Dinning established a complex network of for-profit and nonprofit businesses whose goal, he said, was to help the indigenous people of the Wild Coast of South Africa attain a better quality of life while also making money for those who invested in his projects. In the first of many stories Inside Business wrote about Dinning, in November 2006, he said that he thought his investors would make about a 26 percent return annually. Many of those investors were from Hampton Roads, often members of the medical, academic and evangelical Christian communities. But according to numerous investors interviewed since 2008, there has never been any return on investment and no evidence of significant progress on the South African projects, which included luxury villas for rent and sale, a golf course and a nature preserve, all of which were supposed to create jobs for the locals. Simultaneously, Dinning's charitable ventures were supposed to provide the tribal communities with health care, education and improved farming methods. According to the indictment, regardless of whether his supporters made investments for profit or donations to his charity work, upon receipt of these funds, "Dinning is alleged to have immediately used their money for personal and family gain, for payment of his and his family's expenses, for payment of alimony and child support to his ex-wife, for payment of private school tuition for his children, and to make the down payment and subsequent mortgage payments on his new $975,000 home in Suffolk." The indictment goes on to say, "As a result Dinning allegedly obtained more than $2.9 million from his investors, of which he retained more than $2 million for his and his family's benefit." About 23 individuals have invested in his projects, the indictment says. Steve Geller of Suffolk, a golf course superintendent, was one of them. About seven years ago, Dinning proposed a business deal, Geller said, in a phone interview last week. If Geller and his team of golf course professionals designed and laid out a golf course atop a 300-foot cliff on the Indian Ocean in South Africa, Dinning promised him a percent of the project. Geller made two trips to the site, the second time paying the cost of the flight and a week's stay for himself and three professional colleagues, all of which, he said, Dinning was supposed to reimburse but never did. Nor did he pay for the golf course work, Geller said. "That should have been a quarter-million to half-million-dollar deal," Geller said, "but I charged him only $50,000." Add to that what Geller paid out of pocket for expenses and he calculates Dinning owes him $72,000. When his legal fees surpassed $10,000, Geller abandoned his lawsuit against Dinning. "He ripped me off," he said. "I'm glad he got indicted." At least five other lawsuits have been filed against Dinning by investors. Four were settled out of court and in the fifth, Dinning was ordered by Norfolk Circuit Court to pay more than $722,000 to a Pennsylvania couple who'd sued him on charges of fraud and breach of contract. Dinning also worked at Wextrust Capital, a real estate investment firm, as corporate counsel from May to December 2004. In 2008, charges were filed against Wextrust principals Joseph Shereshevsky of Norfolk and Steven Byers of Illinois. They were accused of creating a Ponzi scheme that targeted the orthodox Jewish community, in which they were accused of bilking investors, including many Hampton Roads residents, out of more than $100 million. Shereshevsky pleaded guilty to fraud and is serving a 21-year prison sentence. Byers also pleaded guilty to fraud and is serving a 13-year prison sentence. In 2008, Dinning said that neither his consulting company, Pure Africa LLC, nor any company that Pure Africa worked with in South Africa was ever associated with Wextrust Capital or anyone with Wextrust. Last Thursday, the Norfolk office of the FBI said Dinning had not been arrested and his whereabouts were unknown. Dinning's case was investigated by the Norfolk Division of the FBI and U.S. Attorney Steve Haynie is prosecuting the case on behalf of the U.S. Dinning holds a juris doctorate from Regent University, a master's in tax law from Georgetown University and a bachelor's degree from Grove City College in Pennsylvania.

http://insidebiz.com/news/lawyer-sues-investors-and-their-attorneys http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/3dd0197a2331444c984b444572982231/VA--Ponzi-Indictment http://fairfaxnews.com/2012/06/virginia-attorney-indicted-in-alleged-ponzi-scheme/ http://hamptonroads.com/2012/06/exsuffolk-attorney-ponzi-case-has-wextrust-ties : By Tim McGlone The Virginian-Pilot © June 12, 2012 NORFOLK BRIAN RAY Dinning, an attorney charged with orchestrating a $2 million Ponzi scheme, left a trail of investors who believed they would make money off South African gold, diamonds and real estate while contributing to wildlife protection and building churches. Instead, according to an indictment filed last week, he used most of the money to buy a million-dollar home in Suffolk, pay for his children's private school tuition and make alimony and child support payments. Authorities also say that Dinning was tied to WexTrust Capital, an investment company that bilked $100 million from its clients. Both lured investors through an investment scheme called Pure Africa, according to court records and other legal filings. Dinning, 47, remains at large. A federal grand jury indicted him on 25 counts of wire fraud. Authorities say that he fled the area after selling his home in Harbour View, Suffolk, for a $300,000 loss in January, and that they believe he is in Toronto. A Pennsylvania native, Dinning received his law degree from Regent University and began working for local law firms in the early 1990s. Portsmouth attorney Stephen Heretick said he worked with Dinning at the same Norfolk law firm in the late 1990s. He recalled Dinning touting investments. "He was always doing these odd deals that no one understood with Africa," Heretick said. Dinning made frequent trips to Africa, he said, and "would come back and talk about this nature conservancy and that he's meeting with minister of something." Dinning persuaded several faculty members at Regent to invest with him. One professor, Andrew Quicke, sued Dinning over a failed investment. The case was settled out of court, said Jason Roper, the attorney for Quicke. The indictment says Dinning used $32,000 from Pure Africa investors to pay the settlement. Roper handled at least two investor lawsuits against Dinning. Dinning fought back by filing a complaint against Roper with the Virginia State Bar, which suspended his license for three years after finding that he committed misconduct by treating Dinning and a witness unfairly. Roper admitted that he once lost his temper and shouted at a deposition in one of the lawsuits. Among Dinning's accusations was that Roper, while contacting other investors, called him a fraud. Roper remains bitter. "He ruined my career," said Roper, who now practices in Pennsylvania. He said the families he represented have been devastated. Some invested their life savings with Dinning. Several investors contacted said they feared speaking publicly because Dinning remains at large. Roper likened the Dinning case to that of disbarred attorney Troy Titus. A Norfolk federal jury in December 2009 convicted Titus of 33 felonies, finding that he had operated a Ponzi scheme that cost investors around $8 million. Titus received a 30-year prison term. He lost his appeal in April. Both Titus and Dinning used investment seminars to lure people in, according to court documents. Dinning, Roper said, "went to people with an elaborate scheme that he was able to pull off based on his training as a lawyer and his knowledge of legal documents to make it look legitimate when there was no legitimacy to them." Besides Regent faculty, Dinning targeted local physicians, authorities said. In all, 22 investors lost $2.9 million, of which Dinning kept and spent $2.06 million, they said, adding that the rest was put toward trying to establish the investments in South Africa The indictment alleges that Dinning began the scheme in May 2005. That was about six months after he left WexTrust Capital. He told Inside Business magazine in 2008 that he worked for WexTrust as its corporate counsel for about eight months. WexTrust chief principals Joseph Shereshevsky, who ran the company's Norfolk office, and Steven Byers of Chicago bilked 1,400 investors out of $100 million. They were convicted and are serving lengthy prison terms. Both Dinning and WexTrust lured investors with promises of high rates of return on investments that included South African diamond and gold mines and luxury developments along the country's eastern Wild Coast. Both touted the Pure Africa investment plan. Dinning set up more than a dozen limited liability companies with the Pure Africa name, such as Pure Africa Holdings and Pure Africa Minerals. Nearly all of them were registered with the Virginia State Corporation Commission in 2006. Dinning convinced one investor, a local doctor, that he was building "the next Pebble Beach" in South Africa and that the investment would return as much as 40 percent, according to the indictment. He also told the investor a bogus story that he had already developed a lodge with an animal sanctuary as well as a diamond mine, the indictment says. The doctor signed a check to Dinning personally for $250,000. Dinning took $57,500 from two investors for a Pure Africa real estate development, but also to build a church in the name of the 16-year-old daughter of one of them, who died unexpectedly of a heart attack, the indictment says. The church was never built. In 2006, the excuses began, according to the indictment. One investor was told that squatters had encamped on the property and there were problems with getting them removed. As recently as March, Dinning told investors that "new management" had been put in place and that they should expect their money to double, the indictment says. But Dinning failed to tell investors that the South African government, in 2008, shut down the Pure Africa venture in that country, seizing all of its assets. Some of that money is now being used to repay WexTrust investors, according to the receiver in that matter. Authorities say that instead of investing the money, Dinning used some of it to pay off earlier investors and the rest to pay his ex-wife's $11,000-a-month alimony and child support. He allegedly also used money to pay his mortgage on his 4,600-square-foot home that sits on a peninsula overlooking a James River tributary. He sold the home in January for $665,000, about $300,000 less than he paid for it. He also paid nearly $500,000 to his brother, Stephen Dinning, to move to South Africa and work on his behalf from 2005 to 2010, the indictment says. The brother, who is not charged, also gave tours of development sites and mines to investors who traveled there. A couple from the Harrisburg, Pa., area who invested their life savings with Brian Ray Dinning, won a $722,000 judgment against him in Norfolk Circuit Court in 2010. That case remains on appeal. Dinning had promised the couple that he would use part of their investment to set up a missionary project in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in Africa, the indictment says. Instead, it says, Dinning used most of the money to pay his mortgage, his car payment, his alimony and child support, his taxes, and his children's tuition.

Good things come to those who wait. If you are reading this, Brian, the Federales are closing in on you. There will come a time when you will hear the steel gates clang shut behind you and my advice is "Don't drop the soap".

I wonder how long Sommer Dinning (Mr. Dinning's wife) remains at Mr. Dinning's side to offer him support and comfort. Since he likely will receive twenty years in a federal prison (if not more), is broke, and will on the receiving end of numerous "real intrusions," my bet is she files for divorce within three months. Also, did anyone read the indictment and see that Mr. Dinning's attorney, Duncan Byers, received stolen funds? An honorable attorney would give the money back. Doubt it.

Please, when you write this think about who may be reading this. I am a Dinning. I know my father has done some horrible things, but he is still my father. I love him very much and it destroys me to read all these things about him. My life is becoming a living hell for things i wasn't even aware of. For what it's worth i am sorry for all the wrong that has been done to you all.

It is a sad commentary indeed to watch vindicative sorts lash out at Dinning so as to damage his children. Yet, "ye shall reap what ye sow". Dinning, Roper and now Byers - what a nest of vipers. It really reassures us common folk that lawyers are all we think of them. What do you think the odds are that: 1. Dinning will turn himself in 2. Roper will serve out his suspension and acknowledge his perfidity 3.Byers will pay back the ill-gotten gains Pretty slim, eh?

Well, Brian, you certainly have led folks on a merry chase, but hiding out in Canada isn't going to work very well for you. Your wife's tribe has covered pretty well for you. Did Sommer change her name back to her maiden name to throw folks off or has she realized that Life with Brian is a bit more than she bargained for? You're in Canada, Toronto actually, and it won't be long before the RCMP comes up your walkway. My bet is that they will not be there for a social visit.

Brian- Nice to see you back in the game. I read your long winded explanation about all the terrible people who have tried to upset your apple cart. However, a number of things have come to mind. If things are truly as you say they are and Stiner and Battle and all the others who have waged this vicious war on your project are as bad as you say, step forward and make your case. Granted, the fraud conviction in Norfolk as well as the FBI indictments are problems, but I am sure that once you have come forward and given your explanation, all will be right in the world once again and you can continue your crusade to help the poor Xhosa tribespeople. It does, howwever, look a bit peculiar that you have fled and your whereabout(at least to most folks) is unknown. Perhaps Terry or Michael and Rachelle can arrange to have you come back to the States. I am sure that Mr. McBride will understand your side to the issue. Come on, Brian, step up and show Sommer that you are quite the man.

I too find Mr. Dinning's "articles" interesting to say the least. I am looking forward to the article that explains the fraud verdict in Norfolk and the indictment, but doubt we will see any explanation. Also, have to wonder why Dinning refuses to turn himself in to the FBI if he is actually innocent.

As most people know, Norfolk attorney Duncan G. Byers has represented Brian Dinning and his wife, Sommer, for the past three plus years. For those who have read Dinning's indictment, it is clear that Byers knowingingly took stolen money from Dinning to pay his legal bills. Despite this fact, Byers has refused to pay his ill-gotten gains back to Dinning's victims. What is more absurd is that Byers is currently representing Dinning and refuses to disclose his location to the FBI. What a crook and thief.

I agree with you, Jeff. Byers perhaps should be more circumspect regarding his choice of clients, but I do not think he is the person here at fault. In fact, no one really knows if Dinning is at fault. He has been indicted and is being sought by the authorities, but has not even had a trial. If, of course, it can be proved that Dinning did what he is accused of and it can be proved that Byers profited from Dinning's alleged perfidity, then that is another story. Regardless, things are going to be interesting in the Dinning household(whatever is left of it) for quite some time. I think that, given the noise Dinning has made about"his day in court", he ought to turn himself in and stop hiding. Comments?

I have read with some interest Brian Dinning's nine part series regarding his adventures in Hole in the Wall and social ventures. I came away with the feeling that no matter how hard you try to polish a turd, at the end of the day, a turd is still a turd.

The Canadian authorities have arrested Brain Ray Dinning and are holding him pending extradiction to the United States. He is currently under a US Federal indictment charging him with 25 counts of wire fraud. He was arrested yesterday in Toronto, Canada.

Dear Sommer: For the sake of our family name please leave this sorry excuse for a man. I only call him this because as we all know a man is suppose to take care of his family. However, he is not suppose to do this at the expense of others, and where is he now? Do you think your grandmother would approve? Do you think E.C. would let him in her house? Do you think your grandmother would lend him money? Sommer, do the right thing and leave him. Testify against him and become the heroine of this story and put this person behind bars for the rest of his life. Put him there and let the people he has swindled sleep at night knowing that he will never do this to anyone else ever again. Do you think your parents approve of this situation? Do you think K&T would let him in their house again? Do you think K&T would lend him money? If you don't testify against him I will never speak to you again until you apologize to every member of the family. Do you think your aunt and uncle approve? Do you think A&J would let him in their house? Do you think A&J would lend him money? What about your other aunt YM? What about your sisters? Do you think R R or R would approve? Do you think they would lend him money? You have probably already asked many of the people I have listed haven't you? They all said no didn't they? If you don't do the right thing and leave him then I have to assume you were in on it and if that is the case then you are dead to me and a lot of other relatives you have. Remember blood is thicker than water and in the end all you are going to have is blood to rely on because this person, who is going to jail for a very long time, would sell you out in a heart beat. Sommer do the right thing, testify against him.

Here's one for you, Sommer. My bet is that if you don't do what your relative has suggested, K, wife of T, is going to remove the S from that stylish tat on K's arm so it will only read R,R and R. And you thought that the S should be the largest! Dump the loser, let him rot in Club Fed and move on.

I'm Brian Dinning's brother-in-law and I'm simultaneously sorry and relieved that I'm ignorant of his business affairs. What's clear from reading this Blog is that there are an awful lot of people whom have been hurt and have lost money through their business dealings with Brian, and are understandably angry. I'm sorry for this and hope that the multiplying miseries surrounding this situation can be resolved as cleanly and honestly as possible, and that the courts can determine the truth and offer resolution and closure that will help ( please forgive the cliche) the healing begin. I just wanted to say that I know Sommer's family very well (I'm married to one!) and they are as lovely, sincere, honest and trusting a family as you could imagine. They love their daughter unconditionally and want nothing more than to support her, and so to the person who posted anonymously above this note, I would ask that they contact me directly so that we might discuss how best to help Sommer through this crisis. Life is long, strange and sometimes very sad, and to all of you on this board I wish nothing but the best and am sincerely sorry for the losses you have suffered.

It is all well and good to prat on about the many virtues of Dinning's family - at least on his wife's side. But were these not the same folks who knew full well that Brian was wanted by the authorities and had been indicted. I am sure that such a witty blogger such as Michael would be aware of the pickle his brother-in-law had found himself. And the rest of the family - what about them? Where was the moral courage - if nothing else - to confront Brian, particularly after that long diatribe about how misunderstood he was, and get him to turn himself in to the authorities so he could tell his side of the story and have his day in court? What did they do? Nothing, but smugly look the other way and tut-tut behind closed doors. This, in my opinion, makes them no better than Dinning himself. And-Jeff - do not be gulled into thinking that Dinning didn't set out to con these many folks. There are those of us who have known of Dinning far longer than before you came along. And as for that blushing young silph, Sommer - don't you think for one minute that she didn't hop right on that financial bandwagon from the get-go. She is up to this to her charming tattoed right arm. So spare me the self-effacing, sanctomonious claptrap. Nail Dinning to the wall of his cell and let the rest of his miscreant family suffer the consequences of harbouring that wretch.

Jeff- Thanks for the lesson regarding the moral high ground. This character has been gulling folks for long before you were around and it is a pleasure to see him in the hot seat. As for poor Sommer and the rest of the tribe, sorry, but I just don't share your compassion. As I said previously, this crew of clowns was quite content to shelter Dinning so that he could continue his sham of a life, all whilst knowing full well what he was facing. I didn't advocate that they turn him in; rather, I found it strange that none of them ever brought any pressure to bear on him to step up and state his case. And while you may think what you will as to who or where I am - try again. Anonymity has kept me in one piece and in dealing with this crew, it is more out of caution than anything else. So DUDE, we can do without more touchy-feely advice.

Brian, I guess by this time you don't get a chance to read this. We use to work for the same firm before all this and the ventures. I was quite surprised to see the name in the newspaper just a few months ago and looked down several times again and again, "is that Brian? ... Brian Dinning?" I sort of get a chuckle out of that, too, since I know I was not alone whenever some that just found out all this had been going on did the same. Really, Brian was a good guy and this is all a surprise. I really can't say what roads he turned down or what caused this all...and really, Brian, if you do get this: an affair you were having back there? and then another in Northern Virginia, and then off to LA and the whole Nicholas Cage thing? Seriously, folks, that is just how I see it since this was nothing like anyone I knew and I am not half bad at character analysis, but, I can be wrong sometimes. I can tell you the firm we use to work for was one of the tops and they, too, would not have had him employed there if he was not of the like character, which were very good people in the area and not just as lawyers. But, anyway, back to some of what I would like to say to the investors. I realize you have had your reasons to invest...and apparently, Brian was really getting around to beg for the money with many diverse people, BUT, yes, there is a "but".. my mother was a missionary. She went to Mexico and lived there for years. Lived there with the poor people with dirt floors. Her funds came from the World Missionary Fund and various donations. Her other missionary friends, the Heflins in Hanover County, Virginia, lived in little one room cinder block homes when they were not traveling to spread the ministry. My cousin on my other side of the family lived in Russia and a very hostile neighboring country for years as their ministry and just came back to to the US a few years ago, and by no means wealthy to just be a Baptist minister in Georgia. This is not about "a venture". You should have known that. Everyone should have known that. I can't believe that you are dumb like that and really question if you were. You don't seek to have a return on your MONEY in doing your work in this area or if you have a "calling". WTF?? The poster way back a few posts that even said he thought Brian owed him and a few people for having traveled to Africa (by the way, interjecting before I lose the thought.. my mother thought I had some "calling" that I might go to Africa one day. Dang, Brian, if I had only known...lol. Her cousin was Pat Roberson's VP of Public Relations for years until the day she died. Very genuine people...long before his Regent University)...back to the, was that Suffolk? investor... and that he even had to pay for his golf week. Are you kidding ME? Come on! If I was the judge you could blow me on that one. I don't know what Brian was thinking of, nor all his intentions, but I tend to agree that that there are some real back biting, and most likely lying, people that have posted some things here....actually, altogether...family and all. Genuine people do things that might require some money to help out, but do not expect returns, not play that stupid, either. If I was Brian I might be happy to go the club fed for a while to get away from all of you folks and cut the losses. And really, where did the $11,000 dollar in support he was expected to pay come from? When I knew him at the firm we worked for an attorney did not even get paid that much. That figure has an interesting story behind it, I am sure, which apparently no one cared about, but only getting paid. Again, all of you, are questionable in my book, from the investors, to the attorneys, to the family. Easy to just nail that guy up there to the cross, eh? Ever think about that one, folks? You are without sin? Last, but not least. My family, on my father's side, The Nansemond Indians, has fought the City of Suffolk for years just to have some little tribal land back just to maybe put a museum on it and have the yearly Pow Wows to keep the history alive. We sought just to have more updated history books and so on. To you in Africa on a "Wild Coast", I realize, too, what it is to have had the land taken, but we also fought many wars here. It is ironic that I know someone that did that there. I am sensitive to this, but it looks, too, as some posters stated..it is still all about the money and not just to help people live a quality of life that might be just quite simple. Sounds like there was more than diamonds there but, gold, on the Wild Coast for many interested parties. Shame on you for all the scams, as I said, you were just as much a part of that as what is supposed to be Brian's entire wrong doing. Sincerely, Robin Kaye Bass Garnto PS, sorry for such a rough and casual draft, but I also feel quite empassioned, too, I don't know if I had edited it that it would convey anything REAL instead of the business that you keep talking about in the name of God.

On The second of this month, Brian Dinning, was sentenced to twelve and a half years in the Federal Penal System of the United States.