Donald M. Johnson will remain in Porter County Jail at least until his next hearing in early January after a judge found him to be both a danger to the community and a flight risk, evident in part thanks to a recorded call Johnson made from jail in which he said he wanted to sell all of his properties and move out of state.
Johnson, 59, of Porter, appeared in an orange jail suit Friday before Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer via videoconference from the jail. At various times, both men seemed to scowl on the live stream from the court hearing, though clearly for different reasons.
Clymer has long lost his patience with Johnson, as evident in multiple court hearings when Clymer accused Johnson of lying in open court. Johnson, as Special Prosecutor David Rooda pointed out, “is the essence of the rules do not apply to him.”
Johnson, 59, is on probation for four years after pleading guilty more than a year ago to a single count of securities fraud in a case that has stretched for a decade and involves multiple victims. Under the terms of the plea agreement reluctantly accepted by Clymer in January, Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of broker-dealer registration violation, a Class C felony.
The additional 14 counts against him were dismissed as terms of the plea and he was sentenced to four years of probation and to pay $604,500 in restitution, the total owed to all of his victims. He has paid $58,031 of that so far, according to online court records.
Johnson landed in Porter County Jail in October after a late restitution payment, among other allegations, jeopardized his probation status. He also racked up a fresh criminal charge, a Level 6 felony count of obstruction of justice, during his Oct. 24 arrest at his parents’ rural Porter County home.
Friday’s hearing was for the court to consider releasing Johnson on bond. He has an evidentiary hearing slated for Jan. 3, during which the court will determine whether to revoke his probation and sentence him to serve out his time in the Department of Correction.
Johnson, who was between attorneys and representing himself at the time, filed a hand-written motion for immediate release from jail with the court on Nov. 18.
In it, he notes his ties to the community and that he made a restitution payment in October that was more than what was due.
He also wrote that “while incarcerated, Defendant has completed 15 certificate courses, led nightly prayer circle, conducted a Sunday church service, and ministered to several inmates.” According to charging documents and testimony at Johnson’s sentencing hearing, he met a number of the victims of his securities fraud scheme through church.
Under questioning from Indianapolis defense attorney Moawia AlMahareeq, Johnson said that except for college, he had lived his entire life in Porter County.
“All my family is here,” he said, adding that includes his wife, as well as his married son and granddaughter. Johnson also has two adult daughters.
When Johnson said he was self-employed, he got a sharp reminder from Clymer that he was under oath. Johnson reiterated that he was self-employed.
Johnson’s probation was revoked in part for working at Matey’s, a restaurant and bar in Michigan City, from June until his October arrest without notifying probation that he had a job, per a petition from probation to revoke his bond. He also worked at a business that sold alcohol, which went against the terms of his probation.
The state also has alleged that Johnson set up a separate account for his Matey’s paychecks, which Johnson again denied during Friday’s court hearing. He claimed under questioning from Rooda that Matey’s primarily serves food, not liquor, and he worked there as a “security consultant,” though Rooda pointed out that Johnson was scheduled to work a shift on Friday, Oct. 25, the day after his arrest.
Johnson insisted under questioning from AlMahareeq that he has “under $10” in his bank account and has never missed a court date in his securities fraud case.
“This case has been pending for 11 years. I’ve never had a failure to appear,” he said.
Johnson said he didn’t know how much he could post for bond and that depended on his family. “I really can’t say. I don’t know the extent of their finances.”
He pledged to appear at court hearings as scheduled if he was released and said he wouldn’t have a problem with GPS monitoring to ensure he didn’t go anywhere.
Rooda zeroed in on Johnson’s plans to sell his property and move out of state. The sales, Johnson said, would be to pay the ordered restitution so the case against him would be dismissed.
“I have no intention of moving any time before that,” he said, adding the various properties need a lot of work before he can sell them.
Rooda played a snippet less than two minutes long of a call Johnson made from the county jail on Oct. 24. Though it’s not immediately clear who Johson was speaking to, and the other caller’s replies were often garbled, Johnson is heard saying the family should “sell everything, pay it off and move out of state.”
He admitted during the call that “there’s probably not a whole lot of equity” in the properties, but added that “maybe if the family sells everything, we can get this resolved.”
AlMahareeq argued that despite the jail call, there was no evidence that Johnson would flee if released on bond.
“He’s indicated under oath what his plan is with all the requirements of what he has to pay,” AlMahareeq said.
Johnson, Rooda said, is both a flight risk and a danger to the community. In the five years he’s been involved in the case, Rooda said Johnson has never expressed a desire to sell everything and move out of state.
Johnson’s position has changed, Rooda said. “I believe that makes him a flight risk because he’s worried about impending incarceration.”
Rooda noted Johnson’s multiple violations of the terms of his probation and how he lied about his job while he was being questioned.
“That’s what Mr. Johnson does. He’s full of excuses,” Rooda said, whether it was about his late restitution payment — Johnson has claimed he got the dates confused but the payment, as well as one due in June 2025, were made the day of his arrest — or his job at Matey’s. “The rules only apply when it’s convenient to him. That’s dangerous, and that’s dangerous to this community.”
In denying the bond request, Clymer said the court found Johnson a danger “to the people he’s preyed on financially for years” and a flight risk.
Clymer also said the court tried twice to place Johnson’s properties in receivership so they could be sold and the funds could go to victim restitution, which Johnson objected to.
“Now that he’s in jail, he wants to sell the property and move out of state,” Clymer said.
alavalley@chicagotribune.com
