Stephen Arky, an attorney, met Ronnie Ewton in his National Guard unit, and introduced him to his father-in-law Marvin Warner, the owner of Home State Savings Bank in Cincinnati, Ohio.
ESM was shut down on March 4, 1985, by the Securities and Exchange Commission and placed into receivership after massive fraud was discovered.
An investigation showed that Jose Gomez, a partner in the Certified Public Accountant firm of Alexander Grant & Company, was given bribes to falsify the financial statements.
[3] Seven people involved with ESM pleaded guilty in April 1986, including Ronnie Ewton, George Mead, four other executives of the firm, and Jose Gomez.
Marvin Warner was convicted in March 1987 of nine counts of fraud-related charges relating to Home State Savings Bank and served 28 months in prison.