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A second former associate of indicted Utah businessman Rick Koerber is facing federal criminal charges.
Jason K. Vaughn was charged with allegedly running a Ponzi scheme that promised a safe investment and 3 percent interest per month. The operator of Freestyle Holdings LLC told investors the money would go into Koerber's Utah County company, Founders Capital, for investment in real estate, according to the indictment filed Wednesday.
Vaughn, 43, Orem, faces four counts of interstate transportation of money obtained by fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
Koerber has pleaded not guilty to 20 federal charges associated with his operation of Founders Capital, which became insolvent after the housing-market crash of 2007. He is alleged to have operated Founders and related companies as a Ponzi scheme and diverted monies to uses other than what he told investors.
Vaughn also is accused in his indictment of diverting investor money for his personal expenses and life-insurance premiums, as well as to pay interest to initial investors in what's known as a Ponzi scheme.
"In this way, defendant Vaughn created the false impression that Freestyle was profitable, that the investments were safe, secure, and that interest was being paid," the indictment says.
Vaughn is scheduled to appear in court May 23.
Another Koerber associate, Gabriel S. Joseph, was indicted in February on charges of wire fraud and money laundering. Joseph, who also faces a misdemeanor tax charge, has pleaded not guilty, and a trial is set for next month.
Three other people who fed investments into Founders Capital previously were charged with fraud in Utah County.
Randy J. Bradley, 51, who faced 10 fraud-related charges, pleaded guilty in 2011 in 4th District Court in Provo to two counts of attempted securities fraud. He was given a suspended prison sentence, fined about $2,000 and ordered to pay about $377,000 in restitution.
His wife, Anna Lee Bradley, 46, faced two securities charges, but they were dismissed on the same day her husband pleaded guilty.
Paul Louis Bouchard, 55, pleaded no contest in 4th District Court in American Fork in 2008 to securities fraud and engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity. He was fined $2,400, placed on probation and ordered to repay $8.8 million in restitution.
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