A man from Greater Cincinnati was arrested and charged with 93 total counts including 62 counts of grand theft for a scam that allegedly earned him nearly $1 million. According to the Clermont County Sheriff's Office (CCSO), 27-year-old Cody Winn was arrested on Dec. 26 on 93 charges: 62 counts of grand theft and 31 counts of telecommunications fraud. The CCSO said it was notified by a police department in California regarding a possible scam being run out of Batavia, Ohio on Oct. 17, 2023.
A resident of Orange County, California had alerted police of a person named 'Cody Clay' who was supposedly working for a business called Market Modern LLC, CCSO said. The victim said Clay offered them an investment opportunity with little risk and that they would receive their money back and begin making a profit within months. Unfortunately the victim only realized they were allegedly being scammed after giving Clay $25,000 to open an Amazon store. The victim told police that they attempted to reach Clay about getting a refund after the Amazon store seemed to not be making money, but Clay was unreachable. Initial investigations led the CCSO to Cody Winn, a Batavia resident who they claimed was the real identity of 'Cody Clay.' Winn allegedly ran a YouTube channel to market his 'business plan to potential clients,' the department said. Police said that they learned Winn would take money from 'investors' and sent the funds to a 'global e-commerce company operating across multiple countries' to manage the money. Authorities said that the Amazon storefronts were actually created, but that Winn did not send the money that they made back to the investors. 31 victims who were contacted (or 'investors') claimed they gave Winn between $25,000 and $60,000 and received nothing in return, police said.Winn stole a grand total of $965,500 from victims in 16 different states, police said. He would allegedly spend between $50,000 and $365,000 per month