SALT LAKE CITY — There is a true bill of indictment against two men from Utah by a federal grand jury. They are accused of running a multimillion-dollar investment fraud scam.
Lenders are said to have sent millions of dollars to companies owned by Aaron Wagner and Michael Mains through a plan that they ran.
The following is what both Wagner and Mains are charged with:
There are four counts of wire theft.
One count of coming together to commit wire fraud.
It’s six counts of moving money through transactions.
Five counts of money laundering, which means hiding the money from wire theft.
Federal indictment papers say that both Mains and Wagner stole money from clients and put it in their accounts. They planned to open several chain restaurants with the money that investors gave them. This list of places had the following on it:
- 10 places that serve Dirty Bird
- 10 places to eat at Kokonut Island Grill
- 10 places to eat at Hello Sugar
In front of bankers and investors, Wagner said that the money would be used to build certain restaurants, but he planned to use it for personal things, investments, or to support projects for other investor groups, including himself as an investor. Court records show that he got more than $40 million from backers.
The papers also say that the two men “used $9 million for their purposes.” Instead, they used that money to pay for down payments on a $4 million second home for Wagner in Scottsdale, Arizona, a $8 million personal airplane for Wagner and Mains, and a $4.5 million Porsche.
$8 million in real estate in Missoula, Montana, and a commercial building worth $1 million that will be turned into a nightclub called “SWAGS.”
If they are found guilty, they will have to give up an SR22 plane, a $8 million home in Missoula, property in Alpine, and property in Scottsdale, Arizona.
