This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I recently wrote about embattled former Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's YouTube ad touting himself as an experienced defense attorney and offering his services to clients facing all sorts of criminal charges, from DUI to sex offenses, drug crimes to domestic violence, assault to murder.
I suggested his expertise may fit best in helping white-collar-crime defendants, since he is being prosecuted on multiple felony corruption counts stemming from his activities as a three-term attorney general.
Perhaps, I wrote, he could look in the mirror and consult himself. Maybe he could even give himself a discount.
But if he is as successful as a defense lawyer as he was in a recent divorce case, he might want to hire somebody else.
Shurtleff was the attorney of record for telemarketing-company owner Sov Ouk in a bitter and lengthy divorce action before the Utah Court of Appeals.
Ouk had appealed a district court ruling favoring his ex-wife on such issues as child support, misuse of marital assets and lawyer fees.
With Shurtleff handling the appeal's legal arguments, Ouk got slam-dunked on every point.
The court was skeptical of Ouk's claim that the income used to base the amount of child support that he should pay had declined and that the judge did not take that into account. In fact, the appellate court agreed with the district court that Ouk intentionally presented inaccurate income documentation. The appellate court upheld the district judge's calculation based on a three-year average of Ouk's income.
The higher court also upheld a ruling that Ouk inappropriately dumped marital assets by spending all the money that he received from a line of credit on the couple's house and selling a Mercedes-Benz. The court did not buy Ouk's argument that the money went toward business expenses.
Shurtleff was not only Ouk's attorney but also his friend.
A story in the Salt Lake City alternative newspaper City Weekly in August 2013 outlined a cozy relationship between Shurtleff and Ouk in which Shurtleff was even accused by Ouk's ex-wife of trying to intimidate her by sitting in a car in front of her house as though on a stakeout.
Shurtleff wrote a 2012 letter to Zions Bank President Scott Anderson asking that, as a personal favor to Shurtleff, Zions modify Ouk's home loan. At the time, Ouk was facing regulatory action from the Division of Consumer Protection.
Ouk eventually forked over thousands of dollars in fines.
Shurtleff also offered a personal testimonial to a supplemental vitamin drink that Ouk was peddling and accepted thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Ouk-controlled companies.
It's not the first time Shurtleff has buddied up with telemarketers under scrutiny from regulators. The felony counts he faces are based partly on such associations.