This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Provo man convicted of fraudulently convincing investors that he had salvage rights to Geneva Steel building materials has been ordered to pay about $1.42 million in restitution.
Rodger Graham, 59, pleaded guilty to securities fraud and a pattern of illegal activity, both third-degree felonies. Last week, 4th District Court Judge Lynn Davis ordered him to pay about $1.42 million in restitution.
On July 2, Davis had also sentenced Graham to a year in the Utah County jail, as well as 36 months of probation, according to court documents.
"In 2004, Graham made representations that salvaged material from Geneva was worth approximately $5.5 million dollars and that there was a robust market for its use in new buildings," according to a statement from the Utah Attorney General's Office.
Two victims invested. One paid Graham about $1 million for the materials, "with a promise that when it was sold, the victim would be repaid with interest," but no money was ever repaid, according to the statement.
A second victim hired Graham as a general contractor to use the salvaged materials to build a Harley Davidson dealership. However, Graham did "very little work," yet received "hundreds of thousands of dollars in excess of the work done," then walked off, the statement adds.
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