A federal district court judge on Thursday rejected National Lampoon CEO Timothy Durham’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Durham of wire and securities fraud.
According to the federal government, Durham operated a criminal scam that cheated investors out of more than $200 million.
Durham accused the federal government of obtaining evidence for the suit through illegal wiretaps back in 2009.
Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson of the Southern District Court of Indiana said Durham had no support for his claims.
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“The Government’s evidence establishes that Mr. Durham’s suspicion of unauthorized wiretapping was unfounded, and Mr. Durham has introduced no evidence to the contrary,” Magnus-Stinson wrote. “Even if ‘outrageous government misconduct’ existed as a basis to dismiss indictments, that theory would have no application here.”
Durham tried to argue that the federal government had gathered information before receiving judicial approval, along with other violations of wiretapping law.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.