Report: Georgia fraud suspects used similar scheme in W. Va.

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - Three former Martinsburg residents accused of defrauding Georgia investors out of a total of $10 million used a similar scheme in the Eastern Panhandle and in Maryland, the Martinsburg Journal reported Wednesday. <br> <br> Sonja Coyle, 34; her husband, Randall, 39; and his brother, Ronald Coyle, 46, were indicted in February as officers of the Rando Group Inc. in U.S. District Court in Savannah, Ga. All now live in Georgia. <br> <br> Also indicted was Avery Curtis Griffin Jr., 36, of Brunswick, Ga. <br> <br> They face 79 counts of conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, making false statements on bank loan applications and money laundering, the indictment said. <br> <br> They allegedly bilked Georgia investors through schemes that promised a short-term return of 15 to 100 percent on investments. <br> <br> The newspaper said the Coyles used a similar scheme when they opened Rando&#39;s Gyms in 1997 in Martinsburg and Charles Town and in Hagerstown, Md. <br> <br> Civil lawsuits later were filed in Berkeley County Circuit Court against the Rando Group and the Coyles by Eastern Panhandle residents who invested from $7,000 to $137,000 in the company. <br> <br> Creditors and banks also filed lawsuits after the Coyles allegedly failed to pay back loans for equipment and failed to pay rent on the properties they were leasing, the newspaper said. <br> <br> Many of the plaintiffs won their cases but have not seen the money owed to them, it said. <br> <br> The Martinsburg gym was shut down by the Berkeley County sheriff&#39;s department amid fraud allegations. The contract was renegotiated and Gold&#39;s Gym opened in August 1997. <br> <br> ``When I first opened the doors, it took me about 10 minutes to realize a lot of local residents were screwed out of a lot of money,&#39;&#39; said General Manager John Link. ``And because it was the same building, people (associated) us with Rando&#39;s.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Gold&#39;s gave away about $150,000 in free memberships to compensate residents for those bought at Rando&#39;s before it closed. <br> <br> ``One man came in with a canceled check for $5,000,&#39;&#39; Link told the newspaper. ``He had bought four lifetime memberships to Rando&#39;s. All we could give him was four free yearlong memberships.&#34;