http://franklinsquires.blogspot.com/2011/08/our-public-statement-on-c-rick-koerber.html
The Indictment from The US Attorney Website: Not too much different... Look at the Date... 2009? Is this just a rehash of the old stuff.. Looking at the Justice Department Memo (below) ...YEP
http://www.justice.gov/usao/ut/caseupd/documents/koerber%20superseding%20indictment.pdf
"There are no substantive changes in the superseding indictment. Changes were made to the section of the indictment describing the scheme and artifice to defraud. In addition, Count 1 of the previous indictment was eliminated following a ruling by U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups that documents which formed the basis of Count 1 were protected by the attorney-client privilege."
The Official United States Justice Department Statement
http://www.justice.gov/usao/ut/press/releases/Koerber%20second%20ss%20indictment%20statement.pdf
The Salt Lake Tribune
Published: September 29, 2011 08:48PM
Updated: September 29, 2011 11:53PM
Francisco Kjolseth | Tribune file photo Rick Koerber, accused of massive fraud in Utah County shows up to Federal Court in Salt Lake City in January 2010 for a status hearing alongside his wife, Jewel Skousen. The federal government on Thursday filed a new indictment against Koerber after a judge threw out a key piece of evidence in case over an alleged investment scam that took in more than $100 million.
A federal grand jury on Thursday returned a new 20-count indictment alleging Utah County businessman Rick Koerber engaged in widespread investment and tax fraud.
The indictment follows a federal judge’s decision in July to throw out a key piece of evidence in Koerber’s case, in which he is accused of running an investment scam that took in more than $100 million.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stewart Walz previously said the ruling by U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups affected a “significant” part of an existing 22-count indictment alleging fraud, money laundering and tax evasion by Koerber in his operation of FranklinSquires Cos. and related real-estate investment businesses.
Waddoups’ decision forced prosecutors to seek a new indictment, which was filed Thursday, said Melodie Rydalch, public information officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“There are no substantive changes in the superseding indictment,” Rydalch wrote in a statement. She said small changes were made to a section of the indictment describing the alleged “scheme and artifice to defraud.”
Count one of the first indictment was deleted after Waddoups’ ruling, which found documents that formed the basis of count one were protected by attorney-client privilege, Rydalch said.
The indictment accuses Koerber of operating a Ponzi scheme in which money from new investors was used to pay initial and previous investors to make the businesses appear profitable and to continue to attract new money.
Waddoups’ previous ruling stated a draft letter Koerber had prepared for major investors was subject to attorney-client privilege and couldn’t be used against him. The government contended the letter had been sent to investors in the real-estate company, but Waddoups said testimony from Koerber and other sources indicated the letter was never sent out and remained confidential communication between Koerber and attorneys.
Waddoups said in his ruling that a government witness, Koerber’s former personal assistant, was not credible when she testified she mailed out the letter on Koerber’s instructions.
The letter has not been placed in the court record nor read in open court, but testimony and court filings indicate it had to do with how investors’ funds would be used.
Koerber was originally indicted on three counts in May 2009, but 19 additional charges were added in a previous superseding indictment in November of that year.
Koerber was considered something of an investment guru in Utah County, where he charged large fees for seminars and classes about investing in real estate using procedures he called “equity milling.” But prosecutors also said he lured in hundreds of investors with promises of high returns before the companies collapsed when the nation’s real-estate bubble burst in 2008.
The indictments allege he used about half of the $100 million to pay back initial investors and also spent funds on investments other than real estate.
Koerber’s attorney, Marcus Mumford, contends the government has no evidence that Koerber promised investors one thing and did something else.
mrogers@sltrib.com
Twitter: @mrogers_trib
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Koerber partner faces tax charge
Gabriel S. Joseph, a partner with Rick Koerber in the FranklinSquires Cos., also faces federal charges. Joseph was charged in April with two misdemeanors for allegedly failing to file tax returns for 2004 and 2005. He has pleaded not guilty, and a trial is set for December.
This is another Article on this Matter:
Utah County businessman indicted in federal court, again
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Jim Dalrymple - Daily Herald | Posted: Friday, September 30, 2011 12:01 am | No Comments Posted
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SALT LAKE CITY -- A federal grand jury has returned a second superseding indictment against a Utah County businessman accused of tax fraud.
The indictment charges Rick Koerber with six counts of fraud in the offer and sale of securities, 10 counts of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering and two counts of tax evasion. A federal court news release states that one count from a previous indictment was eliminated because a document on which that count was based could not be used in court.
Court documents state that Koerber used several different businesses and Ponzi schemes to bilk investors out of their money. The case was filed in 2009, and Koerber initially was charged with three counts -- mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion. Additional criminal charges were filed later for his alleged involvement in a $100 million Ponzi scheme.
According to Koerber's charging documents, Koerber carried out his scheme between 2004 and 2008. The documents state that he used a real estate program he dubbed an "Equity Mill" to convince investors that they could make significant amounts of money. He attracted new investors with magazine advertisements that promised investors they could make money without ever buying property, the documents reveal. He also reportedly claimed that the so-called investments were risk-free.
But the money he took in through his Founders Capital company reportedly was not used for the Equity Mill -- as he claimed it would be -- and other companies Koerber ran were not profitable. Koerber was aware of those facts, the documents assert, but intentionally misled investors.
Koerber also is accused of using investor money improperly. The documents state that he spent more than $800,000 on restaurants, $1 million on expensive cars, $5 million making a movie, $425,000 minting coins and hundreds of thousands of dollars on other expenses. The documents ultimately assert that Koerber took in more than $100 million in investor funds, and used more than $50 million to make Ponzi payments.
Koerber's new indictment comes after a judge prohibited prosecutors from using a letter Koerber wrote in the past. Koerber argued that the letter was protected by attorney-client privilege, while prosecutors believed he had used it to mislead investors.
Koerber's attorney, Marcus Mumford, has said that he believes the allegations are baseless. He pointed out that a key witness for the prosecution turned out not to be credible. Mumford also said the entire case has been built on unsupported facts and conclusions.
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Copyright 2011 Daily Herald. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Posted in Crime-and-courts, Alpine, Jim-dalrymple on Friday, September 30, 2011 12:01 am Updated: 12:15 am. | Tags: Alpine, Crime, Fraud, Federal Court, Tax Evasion, Rick Koerber
SALT LAKE CITY -- Federal prosecutors plan to file a new, or superseding, indictment against an Alpine businessman after a judge ruled that a letter the man wrote cannot be used in court.
Melodie Rydalch, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah, said that the federal government's first count against Rick Koerber is based on a specific document that U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups ruled Tuesday is privileged. As a result, prosecutors cannot use that document and will seek the superseding indictment. Rydalch did not say what new charges Koerber may face.
Koerber had faced 22 charges related to tax evasion and fraud. Court documents state that Koerber used several different businesses and Ponzi schemes to bilk investors out of their money. The case began in 2009 and Koerber initially was charged with three counts -- mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion. Nineteen additional criminal charges were filed later for his alleged involvement in a $100 million Ponzi scheme.
Rydalch stressed Tuesday afternoon that seeking a superseding indictment is a routine procedure and does not mean prosecutors were dismissing the case. She added that prosecutors remain confident in the case.
But defense attorney Marcus Mumford described Tuesday's developments as a victory for Koerber. He said that the government's decision to seek a superseding indictment stemmed from a ruling Waddoups issued in June and which prohibited prosecutors from using a letter Koerber had written. Koerber argued that the letter was protected by attorney-client privilege, while prosecutors believed he had used it to mislead investors.
After a key witness for the prosecution was found to be not credible, Waddoups sided with the defense. Mumford added government investigators never found anyone who received the letter during a three-year investigation.
Mumford also said that the entire case has been built on unsupported facts and conclusions, and added that he anticipates the superseding indictment to be the same.
"We'll be interested in how the government changes its theory here," he said. "We expect that it will be faulty."
Koerber's next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 7.
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Copyright 2011 Daily Herald. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Posted in Crime-and-courts, Alpine, Jim-dalrymple on Wednesday, August 3, 2011 12:14 am Updated: 2:35 pm. | Tags: Alpine, Crime, Ponzi Scheme, Fraud, Tax Evasion, Rick Koerber, Federal Court, Melodie Rydalch
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