CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — The Charlotte man who made an offer to buy the Krispy Kreme doughnut company will spend more time in the Mecklenburg County jail while he waits for his federal trial on fraud charges.
A federal magistrate judge refused to release Jerry Demario Guess, 26, on bond Tuesday morning. His attorney said Guess will plead not guilty, and he asked the judge to release Guess so that he could live with his father near Winston-Salem until the trial, but the judge said no.
A prosecutor called Guess a "financial threat" and said he had a long history of not showing up for court dates.
A criminal complaint by the Federal Bureau of Investigation says Guess used his company, Charlotte-based Ligna Acquisition Group, to defraud victims out of $1.7 million.
The FBI said Guess promised two large West Coast real estate developers huge loans -- in one case, $42 million and $204 million in another. In each case, those developers said they sent Guess huge advance fees, amounting to more than $1.1 million.
FBI agents said Guess took the money and never made good on the loans.
Those companies filed lawsuits, but Guess had moved to Canada.
He resurfaced in Toronto in 2009 when he made an offer to buy the Krispy Kreme doughnut company.
That deal never went through, but last month police in Canada arrested Guess on a series of minor fraud charges. He was released from a jail in Toronto last month, and federal marshals returned him to Charlotte to face fraud charges.
Previous Stories: July 2, 2009: Charlotte Businessman Arrested In Canada, Faces Fraud Charges September 11, 2006: Investigators Search Man's Bank Accounts