This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A state court jury heard closing arguments Thursday evening in the case of a real estate agent accused of defrauding buyers of lots by allegedly failing to disclose her ownership interest and the fact there was no water available in a Saratoga Springs subdivision and no building permits would be issued.
The jury of seven women and three men got the case about 6 p.m. after the prosecutor and the attorney for Kimberly Bowen finished closing arguments at the end of a nearly two-week trial in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City. The eight-person jury was to start deliberations Friday morning.
The closing arguments were a study in near absolute contrasts and divergent in focus: Assistant Attorney General Denise Dalton, the prosecutor, spent almost all her time focusing on whether Bowen violated state laws by failing to disclose an ownership interest in companies that were selling lots in the Fox Hollow subdivision in 2007 and 2008. Defense attorney Chris Bown pointed fingers at the man who he said was really responsible for the lack of the water at the lots and the loss of money that resulted — developer Richard Wolper.
Dalton skipped over the issues involving Wolper, whose cantankerous testimony prompted three warnings from 3rd District Judge Randall Skanchy, including a threat of contempt.
"This not a trial to convict Mr. Wolper or anyone else," Dalton said.
But an impassioned Bown told the jury Wolper was responsible for the troubles at Fox Hollow and that city officials had allowed and facilitated his operation even after he stopped work on the project.
He pointed to documents that showed Wolper himself failed to disclose to buyers that water wasn't available at the lots.
"At the end of the day, how do you believe Wolper?" Bown said. "How is Wolper not being charged in this case?"
Bown also said Saratoga Springs officials bore some responsibility for allowing Wolper to record his subdivision, which allowed the sales of lots even though water wasn't available.
Dalton instead presented documents she said clearly showed Bowen had ownership interests in companies that were involved in Fox Hollow and should have told buyers as state law requires.
"A real estate agent of the years and the knowledge of Ms. Bowen would certainly be aware of what she was required to do and what she was hiding," Dalton said.
Bowen faces five second-degree felony charges of communications fraud and one of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity.