Schrenker held on $4 million bond, appointed public defender

NOBLESVILLE | A Merrillville High School graduate who tried to fake his own death in a Florida plane crash will be represented by a public defender and remains held on $4 million bond following a court hearing Tuesday.

After Hamilton County Magistrate Judge David Najjar asked if Marcus Schrenker could afford legal representation, the 38-year-old said, "I don't really know the condition of my assets at this time. It's kind of a delicate issue. My assets have been frozen."

Najjar then appointed Dan Henke as Schrenker's attorney, and the former money manager expressed concern over whether a public defender would have securities law experience and understanding to handle his case.

Wearing beige pants and a plain yellow T-shirt, Schrenker appeared via video conference for the hearing. He faces 11 felony counts tied to financial dealings in Indiana, and is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 6.

Last month, a federal judge in Pensacola, Fla., last month sentenced the suburban Indianapolis man to four years in prison on charges related to the Jan. 11 plane crash.

Indiana prosecutors said Schrenker sold clients a nonexistent foreign currency fund, created false account information and used their money for personal expenses.

Schrenker's single-engine Piper Malibu crashed in Milton, Fla., after he bailed out over Alabama and left the plane to drift on autopilot. He had planned for it to land in the Gulf of Mexico, but it ran out of fuel.

Schrenker and his financial services businesses came under investigation by the Indiana Securities Division in December. Investigators later obtained a freeze on Schrenker's personal and business assets to recover as much money as possible for victims. His assets remain in receivership.