SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Utah County man has been charged with mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion for allegedly scamming investors in a $100 million Ponzi scheme and using some of the funds to pay for things like luxury vehicles and restaurant investments.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment against 36-year-old Claud R. Koerber, also known as Rick Koerber, of Alpine, on Tuesday. Koerber is the founder of FranklinSquires, a defunct Provo business and real estate development company.
The indictment says Koerber obtained about $100 million in loans made to Founders Capital LLC, a FranklinSquires private equity subsidiary, and used more than $50 million to make interest payments to earlier investors.
Koerber allegedly spent $850,000 of remaining funds on restaurant investments, loaned $800,000 to an associate for a restaurant investment, spent more than $1 million on luxury vehicles and more than $5 million on making movies.
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Information from: The Daily Herald
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