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"Authorities say a Warren County lawmaker has been indicted on more than 50 new charges.Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Deters said Thursday that Rep. Peter Beck, previously indicted on 16 charges, now faces another 53, ranging from aggravated theft to perjury.Read the indictment\u00A0 |\u00A0 Watch this storyBeck, 61, was indicted in July on fraud and theft charges amid corruption allegations that cost investors at the company CTech $1.2 million.Beck has said in previous court documents that he never solicited money from investors himself, that he only prepared a few financial statements for them and that those statements accurately portrayed the companies' unstable financial status.Beck rejected calls that he should resign last year and is seeking re-election. He had criticized the allegations as \"scandalous.\"Late Thursday, Beck agreed to step down as the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, \"effective immediately,\" another representative said.The Ways and Means Committee helps review and set tax policy; it recently has been weighing a proposed tax hike on oil and gas drillers.The cases are a joint prosecution between the Ohio Attorney General's office and the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office and follows a referral from the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Securities.The charges announced Thursday were:One count of Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activity, a felony of the first degreeThree counts of Aggravated Theft, a felony of the third degreeSeven counts of Theft, a felony of the fourth degreeTen counts of Perjury, a felony of the third degreeOne count of Telecommunications Fraud, a felony of the second degreeFour counts of Telecommunications Fraud, a felony of the a felony of the third degreeOne count of Receiving Stolen Property, a felony of the fourth degreeTwo counts of False Representation in the Sale of a Security, a felony of the first degreeTwo counts of False Representation in the Sale of a Security, a felony of the second degreeTwo counts of Unregistered Sale of a Security, a felony of the first degreeTwo counts of Unregistered Sale of a Security, a felony of the second degreeTwo counts of Sale of a Security by an Insolvent Issuer, a felony of the first degreeTwo counts of Sale of a Security by an Insolvent Issuer, a felony of the second degreeTwo counts of Fraudulent Sale of a Security, a felony of the first degreeTwo counts of Fraudulent Sale of a Security, a felony of the second degreeThree counts of Unlicensed Sale of a Security, a felony of the first degreeOne count of Unlicensed Sale of a Security, a felony of the second degreeTwo counts of a Prohibited Securities Act, a felony of the first degreeTwo counts of a Prohibited Securities Act, a felony of the second degreeTwo counts of Money Laundering, a felony of the third degreeVictor Kidd sat on the Mason City Council with Beck. He considers him a friend and a colleague.\"(He is) a friend who tells me that he's innocent when people are coming after him. I'm always inclined to believe my friend. I'm not a fair weather friend, running for the hills at the first controversy. I stand by him. He's innocent until proven guilty basically is the way I look at it,\" Kidd said.Although calls to Beck's attorney were not returned Thursday, in the past Konrad Kircher called Beck a victim, saying he's being blamed for the wrongdoing of others. He noted the primary target of this investigation in dead and the other is bankrupt.\"He has been a tireless worker to make the community better and raised a lot of money to move up the ranks and make a positive impact. Not everybody's willing to do that, to put himself in the arena. This is one of the reasons it's not fun to be in the arena because you get a target on your back and the more you rise in politics, the brighter that target becomes,\" Kidd said.Beck rejected calls last year to resign after the first indictment, and filed this year to seek re-election. He has Republican opposition in the May 6 primary."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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