Students at St. John Emmanuel Lutheran School duct-tape Principal Axel Green to the gym wall Wednesday after they met a goal of raising $1,000 for the Lutheran Malaria Initiative, which supports disease control in Africa.A Fort Wayne man who claimed to be a music promoter is accused of stealing thousands of dollars through a series of frauds, according to court papers.
Richard A. Phillips, aka Richie Rich, faces a felony charge of corrupt business influence and five felony counts of theft. Phillips, 34, of the 800 block of Harbor Walk Drive, had not been arrested as of Friday.
•In September 2009, a woman told city police that Phillips put $1,916 in hotel room charges on her credit card without her permission, court papers said.
•Starting in April 2010, Phillips stole $112,000 from the credit union accounts of his then parents-in-law, court papers said. He promised to pay back the money but only made about $4,000 in payments, his former mother-in-law told police.
•In August 2011, a man reported to police that he and his band mates had given $17,300 to Phillips to promote their group, but he never did, court papers stated.
•In June, the owner of a promotional company in Bloomington reported to police that Phillips was supposed to bring him the proceeds from a show in South Bend but never handed over the money, court papers said.
