toledoblade.com --

COLUMBUS - Auditors reviewing the inventory of Tom Noe's $50 million state-funded rare-coin venture in September reported to the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation that nearly $7 million worth of coins could not be observed because they were "not on site," according to complete copies of the inventory released last night.

It is unclear why the bureau took no action to verify the existence of the "off-site" coins.

Bureau spokesman Jeremy Jackson did not return a call seeking comment last night. Mr. Noe also did not return a message.

The Ohio Attorney General's Office, on behalf of the bureau, last night released complete and unredacted copies of the inventories of Mr. Noe's state-funded coin ventures to The Blade.

The newspaper sued the bureau in the Ohio Supreme Court for the documentation earlier this month after bureau officials refused to release complete records, saying the records could reveal trade secrets.

The bureau released the records a day after the Maumee coin dealer's lawyers acknowledged that $10 million to $12 million of the state's assets had been misappropriated from the Noe coin funds.

Law enforcement cruisers and storage trucks surround Tom Noe's rare-coin and collectibles business in Monclova Township, where officers continued removing items yesterday.
( THE BLADE/DIANE HIRES )

Zoom | Photo Reprints

"Given recent developments and findings with respect to the inaccuracy of holdings of Capital Coin Funds One and Two," Deputy Attorney General Audra Osmena DeVictor wrote, "any argument that the funds may have had in that such inventories contain trade secrets the release of which would significantly reduce the value of the coins has been greatly diminished."

The inventories contained hundreds of pages listing coins, their grades, values, and serial numbers. The audit did not include Mr. Noe's other investments with state money, which the bureau has said included loans, mortgages, and collectibles such as trading cards, paintings, and autographs.

Coins listed in the inventory ranged from an 1891 10-cent piece valued at $11 to a 1907 $20 coin valued at $1.7 million. Hundreds of coins listed were valued at more than $1,000.

The audits, conducted by Plante & Moran and Doyle & McDonnell in June and reported back to the bureau in September, noted that about 20 percent of the coins held in both Capital Coin Funds could not be observed because they were off site.

Bill Schlosser, who wanted to check on his investments with Tom Noe, is surrounded by journalists in the parking lot of Mr. Noe’s Monclova Township business, Vintage Coins & Collectibles.
( THE BLADE/DIANE HIRES )

Zoom | Photo Reprints

According to the procedures noted in the audit, "For coins/packages listed but not on site for inspection, we performed no further procedures to verify the existence of the coin/packages." Coins said to be not on site "can include coins located at a grading company, coins located at a customer's location pending approval, coins out on consignment, etc," the auditors wrote.

The bureau told The Blade for weeks that Mr. Noe had turned over $13.3 million in investment returns since 1998. But they acknowledged two weeks ago that Mr. Noe was allowed to reinvest $5.4 million of the state's share of the reported returns, expanding Ohio's investment in the Noe coin funds to $55.4 million.

State Sen. Marc Dann, a Democrat from suburban Youngstown who also sued the bureau after being refused public records about the rare-coin investment, said last night that problems with the audit were obvious.

"This is exactly the red flag that should have brought [state Auditor Betty Montgomery] to come crashing down on the bureau and make a call to the attorney general to take dramatic action to protect the money," Mr. Dann said.

The Blade learned from a redacted version of the audit last month that 119 coins worth $93,000 could not be accounted for from the fund's Colorado office, and that fund managers said a former employee had possibly stolen the coins.

The Blade also has reported that two coins valued at $300,000 were reported stolen in the mail at the Colorado office.

Blade Staff writers James Drew, Mike Wilkinson, and Christopher D. Kirkpatrick contributed to this report.

Contact Steve Eder at:
seder@theblade.com
or 419-724-6728.

Permanent Link