Lawsuit: Late Jackson Township businessman stole millions. But where's the money?

JACKSON TWP. ‒ Christopher Paxos isn't around to defend himself against what's being said about him these days — the local businessman died two years ago at age 49.

In his obituary, he's described as an award-winning entrepreneur, devoted family man, friend and all-around good guy.

"One of Chris' favorite things to do was to help the world become a better place and to change people's lives," it noted.

In death, some say otherwise.

Paxos has been called a liar, thief and embezzler. He's accused of stealing and cheating his way to more than $8.6 million from a company he headed and its investors.

And it was only after Paxos' death ― and because he was gone ― that the depths of his financial cover-up came to light, say those who want their money back.

Pieces of the saga are sprinkled throughout thousands of pages of post-mortem civil case filings in Stark and Summit County Common Pleas courts, as well as in Stark County Probate Court.

None of the attorneys involved have responded to requests for comment for this story.

However, court records provide details about an ongoing effort: To recover millions of dollars, if it wasn't spent; and to access Paxos' still-locked MacBook Pro and iPad, which may contain clues.

Branhaven, Scidera and missing millions

Paxos died unexpectedly on Oct. 13, 2021, inside his million-dollar home on Brycewood Circle NW.

A GlenOak High graduate, with a polymer science degree from the University of Akron, he'd done graduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to his obituary.

Paxos started his first company at age 22. He earned an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. The father of five went on to found and run many other businesses.

Two of those companies form the foundation in convoluted layers of financial transactions, allegedly used to inappropriately divert millions into the pockets of Paxos.

One of those companies is Branhaven. It's a limited liability corporation in the name of his longtime girlfriend. The other is Scidera Inc., a Cuyahoga Falls life sciences company, which had created and developed products for livestock and other animals.

The two businesses, according to court filiings, were intertwined. Paxos ran Branhaven, but he also was chief executive of Scidera. He also was on its three-member board.

Branhaven's purpose, it's alleged, was created to hold, maintain and defend patents owned by Scidera.

"For years leading up to his death, Paxos abused his position ... ," a Scidera court complaint states. "Paxos misappropriated millions of dollars from Scidera, funneling money to himself in myriad ways without the knowledge or approval of Scidera's remaining directors, officers and shareholders. Scidera now brings this action to reclaim its money."

Among the allegations in court records:

• In 2021, Paxos transferred $3.1 million to Branhaven, from a $4 million legal settlement awarded to Scidera (a windfall he didn't tell others about). Days later, he transferred $2.6 million from Branhaven into his personal checking accounts.

• From 2013 through 2020, Paxos and Branhaven charged Scidera a collective $4.8 million in monthly reimbursements to pay for Branhaven employee salaries. However, that money also wound up in Paxos personal accounts, while employee salaries were actually paid from a separate line item.

• Paxos paid himself $1 million in bonuses from Branhaven — which he arranged to have funded by Scidera.

A 2022 lawsuit in Stark County Common Pleas Court, filed by Scidera against the estate of Paxos, was closed in late 2023. Judge Kristin Farmer issued judgment against Paxos' estate, and the two sides worked out a settlement agreement on that piece.

In December, Stark County Probate Judge Dixie Park approved that pact. Terms require the Paxos estate to pay Scidera $2.6 million. There's not enough money in the estate to cover that debt, but Scidera continues to search for missing money.

And information stored on a MacBook Pro and iPad — used by Paxos — could provide information needed to locate other financial accounts he may have opened. Or, it could perhaps reveal signed contracts between Paxos, Branhaven and Scidera, which could, in part, vindicate Paxos in his alleged wrongdoing.

That is, if anyone can get into the still-password-protected devices to take a look.

Locked electronics, patents and upcoming trial

Although Scidera and the Paxos estate have settled, much more is still be resolved.

Scidera has an active 2022 lawsuit against Branhaven pending before Summit County Common Pleas Judge Allison McCarty. A trial is slated for May 13.

In that case, Scidera alleged Branhaven and Paxos' girlfriend failed to turn over patents owned by Scidera, following Paxos' death.

Scidera sued for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, unjust enrichment and a host of other issues. The dollar amount of damages, the suit stated, will be determined at trial.

In August 2022, McCarty appointed special master (a non-party to the case) Mark Dottore to examine the contents of Paxos' iPhone and MacBook Pro laptop.

Problem is, he couldn't open them.

So, he solicited help from IT experts. That was no easy task. Some declined to help. They were concerned certain device firewalls and programs could delete data, according to a Dottore report.

In a status report to the court on Nov. 29, Dottore detailed how he and others secured multiple court orders and official records to nudge Apple Inc. to help them unlock the devices.

"Each time our team would contact Apple, their red tape and arbitrary requirements caused significant delays," he wrote.

Along the way, Dottore noted his team discovered an Apple cash account connected to Paxos' Apple ID.

"Lastly, currently, we are waiting for a response in our ongoing effort to close the Apple cash account," Dottore wrote. "Once that step is complete we can move forward with the technicians at Apple."

Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 ortim.botos@cantonrep.com.On X: @tbotosREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Stark County's Christopher Paxos accused of stealing, hiding millions