News and Press Releases
2011: Jan | Feb | Mar | April | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
December 2011
December 14, 2011
Christopher Ethington, age 36, of Riverton, will serve 37 months in federal prison for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme involving properties in Davis, Salt Lake and Utah counties.
December 9, 2011
Jose Gilardo Soto-Moya, age 44, of Riverton, has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to making and subscribing to a false tax return.
A San Diego, Calif., investment manager was arrested today on charges filed in district court in Salt Lake City for his alleged role in a $25 million investment fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney David B. Barlow for the District of Utah, Special Agent in Charge David Johnson of the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Paul A. Camacho of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Las Vegas Field Office.
An investment manager based in Houston was arrested today on charges filed in federal court in Salt Lake City for his alleged role in a $72 million investment fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney David B. Barlow for the District of Utah, Special Agent in Charge David Johnson of the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Paul A. Camacho of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Las Vegas Field Office.
Six employees of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Utah, a Special Agent from the FBI’s Salt Lake Field Office, and an Assistant Salt Lake District Attorney were among individuals recognized by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Executive Office for United States Attorneys Director H. Marshall Jarrett at the 28th annual Director’s Awards Ceremony Friday morning in Washington D.C.
November 2011
November 28, 2011
U.S. Attorney David B. Barlow announced Monday that the District of Utah collected $5,880.445.15 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 related to criminal and civil actions. Of this amount, $2,268,664.56 was collected in criminal actions and $3,611,780.59 was collected in civil actions. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the United States and restitution owed to federal crime victims.
November 4, 2011
A 25-count federal indictment unsealed Friday morning in Salt Lake City charges 19 individuals with conspiracy to distribute cocaine base (crack) and cocaine hydrochloride (powder cocaine); distribution of cocaine base; distribution of cocaine; possession of cocaine with intent to distribute; and money laundering following an FBI investigation into narcotics trafficking by the Belizean Bloods street gang.
October 2011
October 24, 2011
A Utah man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Salt Lake City for his role in a bribery and fraud scheme involving federal procurement contracts, announced U.S. Attorney David B. Barlow of the District of Utah and Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
October 21, 2011
Naisa Angilau, age 25, of Salt Lake City will spend 10 years in federal prison for his role in an October 2009 armed robbery of Holiday Oil at 4783 West 6200 South in West Jordan. U.S. District Judge Dee Benson imposed the sentence Wednesday afternoon.
October 12, 2011
A federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment Wednesday afternoon charging Portia R. Louder, age 40, and Chad Louder, age 41, both of Highland, with criminal violations of federal law in connection with what the indictment alleges was a scheme to profit from loans fraudulently obtained from mortgage lenders.
Three individuals are charged in an indictment returned today by a federal grand jury in Utah for their alleged roles in a bribery and fraud scheme involving federal procurement contracts, announced U.S. Attorney for Utah David B. Barlow and Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
October 11, 2011
Bugman Pest and Lawn, Inc., and Coleman Nocks, age 63, of Bountiful pleaded guilty in federal court in Salt Lake City Tuesday afternoon to a misdemeanor count of unlawful use of a registered pesticide. The convictions relate to the application of a registered pesticide at a home in Layton in Feb. 5, 2010, resulting in the deaths of two children.
October 7, 2011
A jury sitting in federal court in Salt Lake City returned guilty verdicts Thursday night finding six members of the Tongan Crip Gang (TCG) in Utah guilty of acts of violence, including robberies, assaults, and use of firearms during crimes of violence, committed in support of an ongoing criminal organization operating in Utah communities.
October 5, 2011
Jason Lamour Keith, age 33, of Aneth, Utah, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to aggravated sexual abuse. Keith admitted that between August 2004 and June 2010 he forced a woman to engage in sexual acts with him.
September 2011
September 29, 2011
Merrill Roberts, 42, of Cedar Hills, will serve 37 months in federal prison for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme involving properties in Davis, Salt Lake and Utah counties.
August 2011
August 18, 2011
James Andrew Lawyer, age 30, a resident of Utah County, will be sentenced Oct. 26, 2011, in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City after pleading guilty Thursday to conspiracy in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme involving the purchase of a home in Highland, Utah.
August 18, 2011
Carlie Christensen, U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah, FBI Special Agent in Charge David L. Johnson and DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Frank Smith issued the following statements following this evening’s jury verdict in U.S. v Dewey C. MacKay, III, finding the defendant guilty on two counts of distribution of controlled resulting in death, three counts of use of a communication facility in a drug trafficking offense, and 35 counts of distribution of a controlled substance. The jury found Dr. MacKay not guilty on 44 distribution counts.
August 17, 2011
A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment Wednesday afternoon charging Stephen and Patricia Murphy with conspiracy to defraud the United States and three counts of presenting false claims to the United States. The indictment was announced by Utah U.S. Attorney Carlie Christensen and John A. DiCicco, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division.
August 10, 2011
A federal grand jury returned a 26-count indictment Wednesday afternoon charging William Ricker Ferguson, age 52, of Orem, and Ashlee Choate, age 21, of Midvale, with mail fraud and wire fraud in connection with a fraud scheme involving a Utah business known variously as Hollywood Body MD Cosmetic Surgery and Laser Center, Hollywood Body and Laser Center, and Spamedica Group.
July 2011
July 27, 2011
A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment Wednesday afternoon charging 21 individuals with conspiracy to manufacture a controlled substance by cultivation, manufacture of a controlled substance by cultivation, and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. Today’s charges follow a significant investigation of a large cultivation site in Washington County.
July 15, 2011
A federal indictment unsealed Friday afternoon in Salt Lake City charges three individuals with conspiracy and attempt to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The charges also allege that defendants in the case used employee access doors at the airports as a part of their attempt to distribute the methamphetamine.
July 6, 2011
Walter Edmund Bond, age 35, of Salt Lake City pleaded guilty to two counts of arson in federal court this morning in connection with fires at the Tandy Leather Factory in Salt Lake City and the Tiburon Fine Dining Restaurant in Sandy which occurred in 2010.
A federal grand jury returned a 20-count indictment Wednesday afternoon charging AJ's Kwik Mart in Salt Lake City and five individuals with violations of federal law in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service.
June 2011
June 27, 2011
Garth B. Day, 41, of Elwood, former Morgan County Council Administrator, pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to money laundering; false loan and credit applications; theft from a program receiving federal funds; and wire, mail, and bank fraud in connection with a fraud scheme involving the county and various financial institutions.
June 15, 2011
Ronald William Haycock, Sr., 63, of Bountiful, convicted in December of money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme, will spend 66 months in federal prison.
June 8, 2011
A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment Wednesday charging Christopher Stein Epperson, age 33, of Heber City with deprivation of rights under color of law for alleged sexual misconduct in his capacity as a Wasatch County Deputy Sheriff assigned to the county’s Department of Corrections as a jail guard.
June 7, 2011
Nathan Lee Kapp, age 36, of Syracuse, who admitted embezzling about $1.3 million in cash from C.R. England Trucking while employed by the company, will spend 30 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups imposed the sentence this afternoon.
June 1, 2011
A detention hearing is set for 11:15 a.m. Wednesday in federal court for John S. Dudley, age 56, of Sandy, charged last week in a 17-count indictment with money laundering and wire and bank fraud in connection with an alleged ponzi scheme. Wednesday’s hearing will be before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Warner.
May 2011
May 27, 2011
Several foreign nationals have been charged with passport fraud in recent months after providing false information on passport applications.
May 25, 2011
Brian David Mitchell, 57, of Salt Lake City, will serve life in federal prison for the June 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Smart. U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball imposed the sentence Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Salt Lake City. Mitchell was convicted of interstate kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor in December following a four-week jury trial.
May 13, 2011
An indictment unsealed Thursday in federal court in Salt Lake City charges Harvey Douglas Goff, age 53, of Ogden, with violations of federal law in connection with alleged schemes to obstruct justice, impede internal revenue laws, pass fictitious documents purporting to be actual financial instruments, assert diplomatic immunity, and defraud others through the use of a fraudulent lien scheme.
May 11, 2011
Ronald D. Fisher, age 56, a resident of Utah County, pleaded guilty to making false statements to a financial institution, wire fraud, interstate transportation of persons in execution of fraud, and serving as an airman without a certificate in federal court Tuesday afternoon in connection with a scheme to defraud banks and private lenders.
Donovan Ray Silas, age 37, of Montezuma Creek, Utah, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, has been charged with assault while within Indian Country in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury Wednesday afternoon.
Burnice Alexander Williams, Jr., age 61, of Salt Lake City is charged with robbing two banks on the same day in an indictment returned Wednesday afternoon by a federal grand jury.
April 2011
April 14, 2011
Thomas James Zajac, age 57, of Downers Grove, Ill., convicted of six violations of federal law stemming from a bombing at the Salt Lake City Public Library on Sept. 15, 2006, will spend 35 years in federal prison.
April 12, 2011
A six-count Felony Information filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City Tuesday charges Garth B. Day, 41, of Elwood, former Morgan County Council Administrator, with money laundering; false loan and credit applications; theft from a program receiving federal funds; and wire, mail, and bank fraud.
April 8, 2011
Kenneth J. Neilson, age 63, of St. George, pleaded guilty to one count of interference with the administration of tax laws Thursday afternoon, admitting that he corruptly tried to obstruct or impede federal revenue laws from about March 1996 to June 2005.
Paul Ryan Hall, age 25, of Ogden, who participated in two Ogden area carjackings on the same day in November 2008, will spend 214 months in federal prison.
April 1, 2011
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert T. Braithwaite found Dan M. Jessop, age 63, of Hurricane guilty of operating an off-road vehicle on federal public land closed to off-road vehicle travel following a bench trial Monday in federal court in St. George.
A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment Wednesday afternoon charging Michael Sathaphan, age 26, of Salt Lake City with four counts of possession of drugs with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm following a felony conviction.
March 2011
March 31, 2011
Troy Cabibi, age 30, of South Salt Lake City, is charged with attempted murder of a federal officer in a federal indictment returned by a grand jury Wednesday afternoon. The three-count indictment also includes two alleged violations of federal firearms laws, including discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
March 22, 2011
Cynthia Bitsuie Jones, age 41, of Montezuma Creek, the final defendant to be sentenced as a part of a December 2009 sexual assault on the Navajo Nation, will serve 140 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart imposed the sentence this afternoon in U.S. District Court.
March 18, 2011
Twenty-five individuals have been charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in two federal indictments unsealed Friday afternoon. The arrests follow a significant investigation by the FBI, the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force, and ICE as a part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force in Utah. The investigation leading to this week’s indictments started in November 2009.
Jeffrey Lane Mowen, age 48, of Lindon, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday afternoon to one count of wire fraud in connection with a foreign currency trading program operating under a fraudulent financial arrangement commonly known as a Ponzi scheme. Investor returns in Ponzi schemes are drawn from new and old investor funds.
March 15, 2011
Douglas Scott Bessinger, age 47, of Logan, has been sentenced to 135 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography in October.
March 8, 2011
Robert Bruce Ririe, age 53, of Provo, who persuaded five juveniles in five different states to take sexually explicit photographs of themselves and e-mail them to him, will serve 15 years in federal prison.
March 4, 2011
Gary Ward, a Utah resident, will spend one year in prison after pleading guilty in September to one count of tax evasion in connection with efforts he took to evade income tax due to the United States on behalf of two individuals.
Thomas J. Hook, the primary owner of Westerner Private Club, Inc., in Salt Lake City during 2002, pleaded guilty in federal court this week to making and signing a false federal income tax return.
March 3, 2011
Tim DeChristopher, age 29, of Salt Lake City, charged with two violations of federal law in connection with a scheme to interfere with the competitive bidding process during the sale of Bureau of Land Management oil and gas leases in Utah in December 2008, has been convicted of the charges.
February 2011
February 28, 2011
Janean Del’Andrae, age 54, of Sandy, charged in a federal indictment with three counts of tax evasion, will appear for an initial appearance on the charges March 22, 2011, at 11:30 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Nuffer.
February 17, 2011
Robert Bruce Ririe, age 53, of Provo pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography in federal court this week, admitting that he persuaded five juveniles to take sexually explicit photographs of themselves and e-mail them to him.
February 11, 2011
An April 18, 2011, trial date has been set for Warren Joseph Montes, age 19, of Montezuma Creek, Utah, charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury while within Indian Country in an indictment returned in January.
February 3, 2011
Bugman Pest and Lawn, Inc., and Coleman Nocks, age 63, of Bountiful are charged with unlawful use of a registered pesticide in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury Wednesday afternoon. The violations are Class A misdemeanors.
January 2011
January 21, 2011
A federal grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday afternoon charging John Vander Veur of Park City, a licensed general contractor in Utah, with tax evasion.
January 13, 2011
A federal jury deliberated just under an hour Tuesday morning before finding Carlos Manuel Mendez, age 26, of Ogden guilty of three federal firearms and drug violations.
A federal indictment has been unsealed charging Jeffrey Charles Zander, age 55, a former resident of Cedar City, with 26 counts of theft from a program receiving federal funds, money laundering, and failure to file tax returns.
Justin Johnson, age 36, of Holden, Utah, an employee of the Bureau of Land Management in Utah, pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday afternoon to one count of theft and embezzlement of government property in connection with misuse of his government-issued credit card.
January 11, 2011
Lul Noor Abdi, age 42, of Salt Lake City, charged in an indictment returned in August with two counts of making false statements to the FBI, admitted today she made a materially false statement to FBI special agents and other task force officers.
January 6, 2011
United States Attorney Carlie Christensen announced this week that she is making leadership changes in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City.
