Todd Lamb, who was convicted Oct. 29 of swindling high-performance boat customers and financial institutions, could spend 21 to 26.5 years in prison under a sentence imposed Wednesday, Nov. 26.
Logan County Common Pleas Judge Kevin Braig imposed consecutive sentences on eight counts including 11 years for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a first-degree felony and four years for theft from a person in a protected class, a first-degree felony.
One-year sentences were imposed for aggravated theft, a third-degree felony; grand theft, a third-degree felony; three counts grand theft, fourth-degree felonies; and defrauding creditors, a fourth-degree felony.
The sentence also triggers a clause in which prison and parole authorities could add 5.5 years if Lamb, 51, does not comply with rules while incarcerated or is deemed a threat to the public.
It is the second time Lamb has been convicted of fraudulent behavior.
In 2014, he entered a guilty plea in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to one count of interstate transport of stolen vehicles and one count of wire fraud. He was sentenced to serve 12 months and a day in federal prison.
Federal prosecutors said Lamb led a theft ring that stole and resold heavy equipment across the country and falsified sale and refund records involving a Mack truck transaction with a Nigerian government official.
Logan County Prosecutor Eric Stewart said the federal conviction was noted in the judge’s sentencing decision.
The case focused on Lamb’s behavior from 2017 to 2023. It was first brought to the attention of Bellefontaine Police Department when a spurned boat customer filed a theft complaint.
Local investigators conferred with Stewart who recognized the need for specialized help. He contacted the Ohio Bureau of Investigation and Ohio BCI Special Agent Steven Seitzman.
“Unlike a typical fraud or embezzlement case, there was no business or office to serve a search warrant because Todd had absconded to Florida,” Stewart said. “Special Agent Seitzman was critical to developing the case. He did all the leg work talking to victims and going over bank records and Facebook records. He was able to put a solid case together for us.
“We’re very pleased with the verdict and the sentence from the court,” Stewart continued. “I don’t think the victims will ever see a dime from Todd Lamb but hopefully, the prison sentence will give them a sense of justice.”
In all, prosecutors say Lamb took more than $930,000 from several customers and financial institutions.
He was convicted of taking money to build high-performance boats and purchasing marine racing motors but never delivered the boats or resold the motors without reimbursing the customer.
A jury also found Lamb took out loans and failed to pay off the debt; listed motors he no longer owned as collateral; and sold off excavating equipment purchased with loans.
His ex-wife Karen Lamb, 43, was also charged but Stewart dismissed the case earlier this month.
“Todd Lamb was always the main target of our case,” he said. “Karen did cooperate with us and provide information and documents to help the case. She did have some interaction with the victims, but all of them said Todd was the main person they dealt with.”
