SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Two Utah men who met in prison while serving time for unrelated fraud schemes have been charged in federal court over a fraudulent trading program one of them claimed to have received in a “spiritual revelation,” the Securities and Exchange Commission said.
A complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City alleges Thomas J. Robbins, 65, of Heber City, and Daniel J. Merriman, 50, of Kaysville, and two other men cheated 80 investors of $11 million, the Deseret News reported Friday.
The complaint also claims the men worked with Clark J. Madsen, 47, and Mark W. Wiseman, 44, both of Sandy, to devise a scheme to fraudulently sell millions of shares of stock in a technology company founded by Madsen.
Madsen and Wiseman entered into an agreement with the men to raise funds and take the company public, despite knowing Robbins’ and Merriman’s criminal convictions, authorities said. All four men were charged with securities violations. Robbins and Merriman are also charged with violating broker-dealer registration provisions.
