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A federal judge has postponed the trial of St. George businessman Jeremy Johnson and four co-workers until September.
U.S. Magistrate Paul Warner on Wednesday scheduled the five-week trial to begin Sept. 14. It had been set to begin on March 2, but defense attorneys asked for additional time to prepare, citing the more than five million documents that are possible evidence from the operation of Johnson's I Works company.
Johnson and the four others face 86 federal criminal charges mostly related to alleged bank fraud for submitting documents to banks for credit card processing accounts related to I Works. All five have pleaded not guilty and Johnson has said the creation of shell companies was a standard industry practice encouraged by credit card processing companies and banks.
Johnson was first indicted in June of 2011, but a superseding indictment naming him and the four others was handed up in March of 2013 after Johnson and prosecutors could not finalize a plea bargain agreement.
Warner said that defense attorneys who were appointed by the court could seek additional funds to prepare for trial but warned, "There will be no further continuances."
Johnson's allegations about Attorney General John Swallow prompted investigations into Swallow who resigned from office Dec. 3, 2013. Swallow and his predecessor, Mark Shurtleff, now face a number of criminal charges related to what's been called a "pay to play" atmosphere in the attorney general's office or for election law violations.