Monia ordered to pay more than $200K to Jackson man

Keith Monia now owes Paul Bollinger more than $212,000.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Kelly W. Parker on Wednesday awarded Bollinger a total of $212,523.35.

That figure includes $80,000 the Jackson man claimed Monia took from him; $27,523.35 in interest; $5,000 in attorneys' fees; and $100,000 in punitive damages.

Bollinger sued Monia in 2010, alleging the Cape Girardeau insurance man took $80,000 from him to invest in annuities.

Instead, Monia pocketed the money, later claiming he believed it to be a gift from Bollinger.

Monia faces 15 criminal charges originating in two counties, most involving claims he defrauded elderly clients of tens of thousands of dollars through similar means.

Last week, Monia -- through his lawyer in the civil case, Jeffrey Dix -- filed a waiver of his right to a jury trial and notified the court neither he nor Dix would appear for the trial date Wednesday, court records show.

The first criminal case against Monia was filed in April 2013 in Scott County, where he is accused of taking more than $220,000 from a Scott City couple.

According to a probable-cause affidavit filed in that case, Monia promised to invest the money in annuities, but instead, most of it went to Cape Girardeau day trader George Joseph, who told investigators he was running a 60-member "investment club" of which Monia once had been a member.

Joseph now faces charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with the May 30, 2013, shooting deaths of his wife and son.

Last summer, Dix requested a change of venue in the civil case, citing concerns about media coverage.

Cape Girardeau County Circuit Judge Benjamin Lewis granted the motion and sent the case to Wayne County.

After the Scott County charges were filed, a state investigation into Monia's financial dealings yielded eight criminal charges in Cape Girardeau County and three more in Scott County.

Monia's financial circumstances since his arrest last summer on the new Scott County charges raise questions about how much, if any, of the settlement Bollinger actually will receive.

"He is in jail on a lot of criminal charges, and he is innocent until proven guilty, but if he is found guilty, he could spend some time in jail and never have anything again in order to pay back the debt," said the plaintiff's lawyer, Adam Hanna. "We hope he will do the right thing and pay the debt, but what was important to my client was to prove he was right and wanted a piece of paper stating the money was taken from him."

In April 2013, Monia posted $75,000 bond and hired attorney David Mann to represent him on the first set of Scott County charges. But after his arrest on the second set of charges, he did not bond out. Monia told Scott County Circuit Judge David Dolan he could not afford an attorney to represent him on the new charges.

Defendants who can afford to post bond and hire their own attorneys -- as Monia did in the initial criminal case -- typically do not qualify for the services of a public defender.

But in November, after Monia went back and forth with the public defender's office for several months, Dolan, at the request of then-assistant prosecuting attorney Austin Crowe, ordered a public defender to represent him so the case could move forward.

In December, Monia's wife filed for divorce in Stoddard County. The uncontested divorce was finalized in February.

Monia is set for trial on the first set of Scott County charges Oct. 9 in Stoddard County, online court records show.

His next court appearance on the second set of Scott County charges is July 10.

He has not yet appeared in court on the Cape Girardeau County charges.

epriddy@semissourian.com

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