Fraud is possible here also because those perpetrating it know that the targets are unlikely to undertake a minimal amount of due diligence. The trust engendered is also possible, to a lesser extent, because trusted advisors either do not understand the regulatory maze, inclusing registration exemptions, or they are kept out of the process to save money or resources.

The UT Bar and other groups (financial planners, etc.) can take a more active role educating their members in an attempt to identify the problem areas and firms and individuals that operate illegally.

In fact, as an attorney who practices in this area and often defends these cases I am well aware that allegations by the government are often proven to be incorrect in court. If I become aware of such allegations being formally disproven in court and can verify that from court filings I will certainly update my posts to reflect that information. Moreover, in many cases people have commented on posts and provided their side of the story, and I have always posted those responses.

The purpose of this website is NOT to imply that stories written by newspaper reporters or allegations made by government regulators like the SEC or Utah Attorney General’s officer are necessarily correct. Rather, the purpose of this website is to track the cases filed in Utah and to educate people about what to watch out for. Investment fraud is a very real and troubling problem here in Utah and I believe people need to be educated about how to avoid getting caught up in it.