This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
WASHINGTON - The campaign finance scandal triggered by a federal fugitive raising funds for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign has a Utah connection.
Clinton's campaign has refunded $9,200 donated by Salt Lake City couple James and Sherlene Dean. Their contribution was among the $850,000 refunded because of the connection with fundraiser Norman Hsu.
Hsu was arrested and charged as a scam artist who allegedly bilked investors out of $60 million.
He had been a fugitive for 15 years.
Hsu's company, Components Limited - which federal prosecutors say was a front for a Ponzi scheme - once paid a company controlled by the Deans, The New York Times reported this month, citing bank records obtained by the newspaper.
The Deans donated the maximum amount, $4,600 each, for Clinton's campaign in June.
Neither had given money to another federal candidate in the last six election cycles.
Sherlene Dean registered to vote last year as a Republican.
James Dean declined comment this week to a Salt Lake Tribune reporter who visited his home in the Federal Heights area of the capital city.
The couple's listed home phone number has been disconnected.
The Los Angeles Times reported recently that Clinton took in about 150 donations of between $500 and $2,300 each from dishwashers, street vendors and other low-wage workers.
Of those donations examined by the paper, one third of the donors couldn't be found.
The Deans are registered agents for six businesses in Utah, ranging from Dean Bagley Associates to Lonetree Enterprises.