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Christopher Wendel listens during his bond hearing on Thursday in Mercer County Common Pleas Court. He faces over 100 counts related to unlawful securities practices and fraud.
CELINA - A nearly two-hour-long bond hearing with multiple witnesses was held Thursday in Mercer County Common Pleas Court for a 59-year-old Celina man accused of stealing over $1.5 million from 14 mostly elderly victims.
Christopher T. Wendel has spent a little over 90 days in jail as of Thursday, after his bond was modified from an own-recognizance bond to a monetary bond in July due to a third bond violation. Wendel's attorney has asked for the bond to be modified.
No decision on Wendel's bond was made after Thursday's proceedings, as Judge Matthew K. Fox will allow attorneys on both sides to render their closing arguments in writing.
Wendel was indicted in July 2024 on 80 counts of unlawful securities practices, including second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-degree felonies; seven counts of grand theft, a fourth-degree felony; six counts of telecommunications fraud, a fourth-degree felony; and three counts of aggravated theft, a third-degree felony.
Then, in November 2024, Wendel was indicted again on one count of telecommunications fraud, a second-degree felony; one count of telecommunications fraud, a third-degree felony; aggravated theft, a third-degree felony; three counts of securities fraud, a third-degree felony; two counts of securities fraud, a second-degree felony; three counts of sale of an unregistered security, a third-degree felony; two counts of sale of an unregistered security, a second-degree felony; three counts of false representation in the sale of property, a third-degree felony; two counts of false representation in the sale of property, a second-degree felony; two counts of grand theft, a fourth-degree felony; three counts of unlicensed activity, a third-degree felony; and two counts of unlicensed activity, a second-degree felony.
If convicted, he faces up to life in prison and restitution of up to $1,610,746.
In addition to his criminal cases, Wendel is involved in two civil court cases in which he's accused of fraud, breach of fiduciary duties and negligence.
Wendel violated the terms of his criminal bond three times between February and July by consuming alcohol. His most recent violation in July led to his bond being revoked, then later set at $1 million - $500,000 for each case - which he's been held on since.
His attorney, James Fleisher of Dayton, motioned on Sept. 9 for his bond to be modified down to either an own-recognizance bond or a monetary bond of $100,000, or $50,000 for each case.
During Thursday's bond hearing, Fleisher said he and his client do not dispute that he violated the terms of his bond multiple times by consuming alcohol. However, he was never reported to be intoxicated or to have posed any particular physical threat to the local community during the violation.
"Nonetheless, it was a violation of the court's order. We obviously accept the court's authority to impose such condition and acknowledge that Mr. Wendel in fact violated that condition," Fleisher said.
He went on to again request that the court modify Wendel's bond down to either an own-recognizance bond with the addition of extra alcohol monitoring and counseling, or a monetary bond of $100,000, subject to a 10% security.
"All felony cases that are brought by the state of Ohio are serious. But there are degrees of seriousness; for example, I think the statute reflects that if the defendant had a weapon or if we were dealing with a case of extreme violence, sexual abuse, some type of a violent felony, there be an additional factor the court would need to consider," Fleisher said. "That would be, 'Look, if I let this person out on the street, are they at risk to do something like this again? Are they going to commit another offense that jeopardizes the safety of the local community?' That's perfectly reasonable, and I'm sure (that is) consideration this court has taken into account in the past. (But) that's not the case with Mr. Wendel."
Judge Matthew Fox takes notes during lawyers' arguments about Wendel's bond, which was set at $1 million in July. The court also heard from multiple witnesses Thursday.
In the state's opposition filed Sept. 16, assistant county prosecutor Peter Galyardt asked the court to continue Wendel's $1 million bond, and accused him of being "an omnipresent and ongoing flight risk."
He also alleged that Wendel is a continuous economic danger to the public, because he reportedly lied on two court financial disclosure forms by grossly underreporting his income to hide assets as to not pay back the people involved in his criminal and civil cases.
Wendel submitted financial disclosure forms in July 2024, in which he reported that he had a monthly income of $1,000 and $3,000 in liquid assets and was employed as the manager of Boots N' Bourbon in Celina. In December of the same year, he again submitted financial disclosure forms and allegedly made no mention of any of the previously alleged assets, but listed that he had no employment, no income and $50 in liquid assets.
"He is a danger to the economic safety of society, that being his victims in this case, as well as civil victims," Galyardt said on Thursday. "Not all of the victims in the civil cases are a part of these criminal cases. And then with the falsifications to the court, Mr. Wendel is obstructing the criminal justice system."
During Thursday's hearing Galyardt called Wendel's sister Lora Schmitmeyer, her husband Chad Schmitmeyer and Wendel's brother-in-law Doug Florence to the stand as witnesses; and played several jail phone calls made by Wendel between May and October of 2025.
In one example, Galyardt pointed to Wendel's July 2025 sale of a 2004 Corvette for $10,000 cash. He accused Wendel of just selling the vehicle in paper only, in order to hide the asset from his pending civil suits.
In a jail call Galyardt played in court on Thursday from Aug. 2, 2025, Wendel was heard explaining that he sold his Corvette to someone, who then paid him $10,000 of his own money back to him for the vehicle.
"I've got these civil cases that are against me and so I need to liquidate certain assets," Wendel said on the call. "So I sold the Corvette. I gave her $10,000 cash as a gift and she bought it off of me. So basically I used my own money for her and just transferred it into her name. … But it looks like she bought it."
As well, Wendel told Celina Police during his most recent bond violation that he was the victim of a theft of around $11,000 in cash from his home, according to court documents. He later told them that the cash stolen was what he received from the sale of the Corvette.
Also, Lora testified on Thursday that her brother owns the Corvette and that it's in his garage.
Another example Galyardt used to allege that Wendel is hiding assets is his November 2024 sale of the building at 201 S. Main St., Celina, which houses the bar Boots N' Bourbon, to D.A.C.L. Properties LLC for $162,500.
D.A.C.L. Properties LLC, formed on Aug. 23, 2024, is registered at the same address that Wendel's sister Angela Florence lives at. It is run by Angela and her husband Doug Florence along with Lora and Chad. Lora testified on Thursday that D.A.C.L. stands for Doug, Angela, Chad and Lora.
Boots N' Bourbon is owned by Celina's Country Music Authority, a limited liability company of which Chad is the statutory agent. Court documents state that Wendel started as the statutory agent for the company, but handed it over to Chad a week later.
The company employed Wendel to work at Boots N' Bourbon as a manager prior to his recent bond violation.
When asked by Galyardt on Thursday who set Wendel's previously reported monthly salary of $1,000, Lora said that "Chris did." When Chad was asked, he said that he had "no idea" how much Wendel made at the bar and that he had "no idea" who set it.
Galyardt alleged that the group owned the building and operated the company in paper only, with Wendel being the one who actually owned the building and ran the business until his arrest.
Judge Matthew K. Fox allowed for closing arguments to be filed in writing. The state's arguments are due Nov. 10, with the defense's expected by Nov. 17. Fox's judgment on the bond modification will follow.
