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Butler County GOP chairman sued by his brother

Civil lawsuit alleges Tom Ellis defrauded  his mother and brother.

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By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer Updated 10:37 PM Wednesday, July 15, 2009

HAMILTON — Butler County Republican Party Chairman Tom Ellis is being sued by his own brother for allegedly defrauding him and his mother for more than $500,000, court records show.

The civil suit alleges that Ellis sold a 20-unit apartment complex in Seven Mile to his mother Claire Smith for an inflated price, then mismanaged the property and pocketed some of the rent. It also claims Ellis borrowed money from his mother and never paid it back.

The suit was filed by Stephen Ellis, Tom Ellis’ brother, who holds power of attorney over Smith.

Tom Ellis denied the charges and said he “will respond accordingly,” though he declined to elaborate.

“Unfortunately it’s a family dispute that has boiled over to the courts regarding my mother’s estate between my family and my brother who left this area for Wall Street 30 years ago,” Ellis said.

The suit alleges fraud and breach of contract, seeking the full amount of allegedly misappropriated funds and clear title to the apartment complex.

The suit says Tom Ellis sold the Seven Mile Apartments to his mother for nearly $1.4 million, which was more than the property was worth, and made $251,000 in the deal. He then managed the property, misappropriated much of the rent proceeds and borrowed more than $251,464 from his mother and brother to keep the property out of foreclosure, the suit alleges.

The suit claims that Ellis did not deposit rental checks for five months over a one-year period, and $68,494 in rent proceeds are unaccounted for.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or jsweigart@coxohio.com.

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That does'nt surprise me from that clown,with the rug on his head.How in the heck does this guy run the butler county gop.No wonder they are in the shape they are

tom jackson
9:54 PM, 11/23/2009

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