Around the Region: Salvation Army Donation Kettle Stolen, Church Building Fire and $18 Million Ponzi Scheme Busted

Lilburn-MountainPark Patch

Two men allegedly robbed the Salvation Army donation collector at gunpoint in Lilburn last week.

The 43-year-old donation collector had been on the job in front of the Kroger at 4155 Lawrenceville Highway, stated a Lilburn police report. The incident occurred Nov. 22 around 5:50 p.m.

According to the Lilburn police report, the collector saw two white males pull up to the curb in a black Isuzu Rodeo. Believing they were about to make a donation, he walked toward the car. The victim reported the passenger then pulled out a black semi-automatic handgun and demanded the donation kettle.

The victim was able to give police a partial tag number of the vehicle. Police observed security video of the Kroger but are unable to identify the suspects at this time.

PeachtreeCorners-BerkeleyLake Patch

The Gwinnett County Fire Department responded to a report from a passerby who saw smoke and flames pouring out from a building located in the 5700 block of Spalding Drive on Tuesday evening, Nov. 29. The building had previously been the used by the Faith Life Fellowship Church.

According to Capt. Tommy Rutledge of the GCFD, when fire crews arrived on the scene they found the large two-story building with "heavy flames burning in the basement and throughout the second floor and the roof of the building." Rutledge reported that the building was empty and there were no injuries on the scene.

The exact cause of the massive blaze is currently undetermined and under investigation. The fire department is trying to locate the building's owner. Firefighters also reported there were signs of previous vandalism to the building but they do not appear to be related to the fire.

Roswell Patch

A Roswell woman and Lawrenceville man were sentenced to prison late Tuesday by United States District Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr. on charges of defrauding investors of millions of dollars in a "Ponzi-type" scheme, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Myra J. Ettenborough, 56, of Roswell and Geoffrey A. Gish, 57, of Lawrenceville were convicted Sept. 23 on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud.

Ettenborough was sentenced to seven years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and also ordered to pay restitution of $17,245,275. Gish was sentenced to 20 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the same amount.

Prosecutors said Ettenborough was office manager for Weston Rutledge, an investment firm originally in Marietta that later moved to Roswell. Gish was the primary salesperson for the firm. According to Yates, Gish and Ettenborough raised approximately $29 million from 2004 to May 2006 from clients who invested in three pooled funds. Investors were promised guaranteed returns of as much as 15 percent per quarter, and received regular statements which purported to show these high returns, prosecutors said.

Of the $29 million raised from investors, prosecutors said Gish and Ettenborough used $11 million to pay investors who requested withdrawals or payment of the supposed earnings that their investments were making. The remaining $18 million was gone, the government said, used for a variety of purposes other than the promises that Gish and Ettenborough had made to investors.