"He took advantage of so many people."
Rhea County resident Reba Keylon was among the crowd of people today who waited in the basement of U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Keylon, and other former clients of former tax preparer Jack E. Brown, had been told Brown would invest their savings.
"I dare say there were any less than sixty, but most were between sixty and 80+ years, so he was taken advantage of elderly people," she says.
Keylon and the others expected to hear the former tax preparer testify over the phone, but he experienced heart palpitations.
Keylon says Bankruptcy trustee Jerry Farinash updated them on the case.
"There's really not much hope we'll recover very much of what we've lost, but I think it's a shame Jack and his family are trying to hide behind the fifth amendment to keep from confessing to what they've done."
Keylon says she knew she was in trouble when she found out on Election Day that Brown had declared bankruptcy.
Keylon has been doing business with Brown for twenty years and says it's a shock to the community.
"Jack claimed to be a Christian. He did attend church, but he took advantage of people in his church, and they're suffering," she says.
Keylon still works as a real estate agent for Century 21 in Dayton, but says she doesn't expect to see those savings again.
