A federal indictment unsealed Thursday charges Robert Glen Mouritsen, age 71, of Kaysville, with using a position of prominence to induce friends and fellow church members to give him money to further a financial fraud scheme he called “The Project.” The fraud scheme started in 2006 and continued through Aug. 29, 2018, the indictment alleges.

According to the indictment, Mouritsen represented to victims that The Project involved a series of complicated international transactions that would replace fiat money (legal tender by government decree) with an asset-backed currency system – for example, the U.S. dollar tied to the value of a commodity like gold. Mouritsen represented to victims that The Project involved governments in Asia and Europe and required the help of attorneys and bankers. He also told them it was expensive to keep The Project moving forward. The indictment also alleges Mourtisen told investors The Project was subject to extremely strict confidentiality agreements and he could not disclose many details.

The indictment charges Mouritsen with three counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. The indictment outlines representations made to three victims of the alleged fraud scheme.

The indictment alleges he told an individual identified as Victim #1 that the investment would be short term and would yield significant investment returns. When Mouritsen failed to return the initial investment in a short amount of time, he attempted to lull Victim #1 into a false sense of security about the investment by representing that The Project was almost done, but he needed additional money to continue. Over the years, Victim #1 provided a total of $326,399.51 to Mourtisen for The Project with the most recent investment occurring in and around 2016.

The indictment alleges that in or around 2017, Mouritsen asked Victim #2 to provide money for The Project. He told the victim that The Project was nearing completion. He told the victim that compensation was being held up by the Patriot Act because the money was overseas. He represented that the money would arrive “any day now,” according to the indictment. Mouritsen also asked Victim #2 for more money to keep the attorneys working on getting his money into the United States. Over the years, Victim #2 provided a total of $165,000 to Mourtisen for the project.

According to the indictment, Mouritsen asked Victim #3 to invest in The Project in late July 2008. He provided the victim with a promissory note with a 12 percent annual return due in one year. When Mourtisen failed to repay Victim #3 within one year, he told the victim he needed more money to pay attorneys to complete The Project. He told the victim that attorneys were working to bring money into the United States, but they were having difficulty due to issues with Homeland Security. For years, according to the indictment, Mouritsen represented that money would be coming soon. Over the years, Victim #3 provided $33,000 to Mourtisen for The Project, with the most recent investment occurring on or about Sept. 19, 2013.

The indictment alleges Mourtisen failed to tell investors, among other things, that The Project had failed to produce any returns in over a decade and that he used a significant portion of investor money for his own personal use and benefit.

The indictment seeks a forfeiture judgement of approximately $1.5 million representing the proceeds traceable to the scheme to defraud.

A federal arrest warrant was issued for Mouritsen based on the charges in the indictment. He had an initial appearance Thursday. He entered a plea of not guilty to the charges. A one-week jury trial was set for Nov. 4, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell. Mouritsen was released from custody on conditions of pretrial release. The potential maximum penalty for each count of wire fraud is 20 years in federal prison. Money laundering has a potential penalty of 10 years per count.

Indictments are not findings of guilt. Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.

Special agents of the FBI and the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division are investigating the case. Attorneys in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City are prosecuting the case.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ut/pr/kaysville-man-charged-operating-financial-fraud-scheme-called-project

Former Arkansas State Representative Sentenced To Three Years Probation For Wire Fraud

Fayetteville, Arkansas – Duane (DAK) Kees, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas announced today that Micah Neal, age 43, of Springdale, Arkansas, was sentenced today to three years probation including the first year to be served as home confinement and the second and third years to include 300 hours of community service, he was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $200,000.00. The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.

“Public corruption cases are among the most serious crimes that are investigated and prosecuted in our District,” said U.S. Attorney Kees. “These cases represent the very worst in deception and fraud because they involve a betrayal of the public trust. Jon Woods and Micah Neal were elected to offices in the State of Arkansas and swore an oath to protect and uphold the Arkansas Constitution. They failed that oath by betraying those who voted for them and scheming to steal money that rightfully belonged to the tax-payers and voters in the State of Arkansas. The sentences last week and this week in the public corruption scheme involving G.I.F. funds and bribery are the result of years of hard work by the assigned Assistant United States Attorneys working in partnership with the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation. It is my sincere hope that these sentences will serve as a deterrence for any individuals who would attempt to corrupt the legislative process in our State in the future. My office will continue to aggressively pursue public corruption cases and work with our partners in bringing those individuals to justice.”

According to the evidence presented at trial, Jonathan Woods served as an Arkansas State Senator from 2013 to 2017. Between approximately 2013 and approximately 2015, Woods used his official position as a senator to appropriate and direct government money, known as General Improvement Funds (GIF), to two non-profit entities by, among other things, directly authorizing GIF disbursements and advising other Arkansas legislators – including former State Representative Neal, to contribute GIF to the non-profits. Specifically, Woods and Neal authorized and directed the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District, which was responsible for disbursing the GIF, to award a total of approximately $600,000 in GIF money to the two non-profit entities. The evidence further showed that Woods and Neal received bribes from officials at both non-profits, including Paris, who was the president of a college. Woods initially facilitated $200,000 of GIF money to the college and later, together with Neal, directed another $200,000 to the college, all in exchange for kickbacks. To pay and conceal the kickbacks to Woods and Neal, Paris paid a portion of the GIF to Shelton’s consulting company. Shelton then kept a portion of the money and paid the other portion to Woods and Neal. Paris also bribed Woods by hiring Woods’s friend to an administrative position at the college.

For his part in the scheme, Neal pleaded guilty on Jan. 4, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks of the Western District of Arkansas to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud. Paris pleaded guilty on April 5, 2018, before Judge Brooks to one count of honest services wire fraud. Woods was sentenced September 5, 2018 to 220 months in federal prison, Shelton was sentenced September 6, 2018 to 72 months in federal prison and Paris was sentenced September 12, 2018 to 36 months in federal prison.

The FBI and IRS investigated the case. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Elser, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyra Jenner and Aaron Jennen of the Western District of Arkansas and Trial Attorney Sean F. Mulryne of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice prosecuted the case.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdar/pr/former-arkansas-state-representative-sentenced-three-years-probation-wire-fraud