SANDUSKY, Ohio - Garry Savage, the 80-year-old Huron, Ohio, man sentenced to prison for defrauding investors in Youngstown's failed Chill Can project, is seeking to withdraw his guilty plea.  He has filed a handwritten motion with the Erie County Common Pleas Court, requesting a hearing to address alleged fraud in his plea agreement.

Savage, representing himself, claims his three-year prison sentence, 18 months of probation, and $2.9 million restitution order violate the terms of a previous plea offer. He asserts this offer stipulated no first or second-degree felony convictions, minimal restitution of $152,000, no prison time, and no probation.

Savage and his company pleaded guilty to 23 securities violations. He has been incarcerated since his August 2022 arrest, initially in the Erie County Jail and, more recently, with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.  Online records indicate he will be eligible for parole in June.

The Ohio Department of Commerce states that Savage's scheme involved diverting funds intended for Coast-to-Coast Chill Inc.'s investment in The Joseph Company's Youngstown plant.  Instead, Savage allegedly used the money to pay himself.  Investigators say there were 18 investors who were victims in the case.

Savage's case part of the larger Chill Can legal saga, which began in 2016 with the groundbreaking of a project touted as an economic revitalization catalyst for Youngstown's East Side.  The M.J. Joseph Development Corporation of California spearheaded the project to produce innovative self-chilling beverage cans, promising hundreds of jobs.

Despite the construction of three buildings on the site, the project stalled.  The City of Youngstown subsequently sued M.J. Joseph for $1.5 million plus interest, and MS Consultants filed a separate suit for $322,907 plus interest.  Following protracted litigation, the Chill Can site is scheduled for sheriff's auction on February 18.