Two 65-year-old men charged with stealing from Knoxville fraternity chapter

Two 65-year-old Knoxville men were arrested Thursday on charges they schemed to steal more than $60,000 from a fraternity at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Douglas W. Lesher and Patrick L. Martin are accused of stealing more than $60,000, but less than $250,000, from the Beta Sigma chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity, according to copies of two presentments returned by a Knox County grand jury on Wednesday.

The theft allegedly occurred over a seven year span — from Nov. 1, 2010, to Nov. 22, 2017, according to the presentments.

In September, Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to launch an investigation into the alleged theft.

TBI agents found Lesher had access to the chapter's checking account and deemed him responsible for the theft, according to a TBI news release. Martin also was involved in the scheme, the release states, but authorities haven't specified his role.

A Doug Lesher is listed as an alumni member on the fraternity chapter's website. An alumni website lists him as a board member of the chapter's house corporation. Board members are typically alumni who serve as unpaid volunteers to represent the chapter if it rents property from a private party or university.

Lesher and Martin were arrested Thursday and booked into the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility. They were being held in lieu of $100,000 bond.

The witness list in the presentments includes the fraternity's undergraduate chapter adviser and an employee of the Regions Bank branch on Major Reynolds Place in West Knoxville.

The president, vice president and treasurer of the fraternity's alumni chapter did not respond to an emailed request for comment Thursday evening.

This isn't the first time Martin has been accused of financial wrongdoing. In 2008, the Securities and Exchange Commission leveled civil fraud charges against him, another man named Michael A. Atkins, and their West Knoxville investment advisory firm, LandOak Securities.

In its lawsuit, the SEC said Martin and Atkins secured millions of dollars from investors, then diverted roughly $1.5 million to a company in which they both owned a substantial interest.

The SEC also said Martin misappropriated $920,000 for his personal use, that he and Atkins failed to keep proper records, and that they made false statements to the SEC.

LandOak Securities and Martin ultimately were ordered to shell out about $880,000 in disgorgement and another $111,000 in prejudgment interest, with Martin to pay a civil penalty of no more than $30,000, according to court records.