COMPANIES IN QUESTION
son for Attorney General Tom Horne, said the office would be looking into the companies and would review the Oregon case.
Neither Darling nor Himes could be reached for comment. Their associates did not respond to interview requests.
In 1988, Darling was arrested after stabbing five people in a Phoenix housing project on East McKinley Street. Police said there was no known motive for the attack, which left a 53year-old mother and her son dead and three others injured.
Police said Darling burst into an apartment and began attacking residents. He was sentenced to prison on charges of first- and second-degree murder in 1990 and was released in 2011.
Arizona Department of Corrections records show Himes served nine years in prison for a 1997 kidnapping in Maricopa County. He was released in 2008. Prison records show Himes had a lengthy history of disciplines for offenses such as disobeying orders, unauthorized contact, lying to officials, possessing contraband, conspiracy and threats.
Gassner said Himes often spoke to her by phone in Wisconsin. She said he was cordial and polite as he touted the benefits of investing in the company.
“He told me how much he was going to help me,” she said. “He kept saying, ‘You’ll know me better than my wife does.’ ” Two Arizona felons are involved with more than a dozen companies that authorities say are being used to defraud senior citizens. Records show these are among the companies operated by Leary Darling and Lance Himes: Aflac Assist, Alac Assist, Assisting US Jobs, Direct Merchant Network, Dollarwise, Divine Clientele, First Business, Global Production Group, JMC Services, Legal Doxs, Magnetic Money 24/7, Management A.A., Merchant Care, Money Now Funding, Transactions A.A., US Biz Assist, US Doc Assist, US Job Assist, US Job Assistance.
Gassner said she almost backed out of the deal, and at one point even stopped payment on the credit card she used to pay the $10,000. But she said Himes and another woman convinced her she had nothing to lose and that her investment was guaranteed.
“Then nothing happened,” she said.