This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
An arrest warrant has been recalled for a former Olympic runner and BYU alumnus charged with defrauding investors out of nearly $300,000.
In January, 4th District Judge Fred Howard issued a no-bail warrant for Kenneth Ekow Andam after Andam failed to appear for a scheduling hearing.
But Howard recalled the warrant last Thursday, after defense attorney Aaron Dodd filed a motion explaining that Andam did not intentionally miss the hearing. Andam has been unable to leave his native country of Ghana, where he is being treated there for malaria, Dodd wrote in a motion asking the judge to recall the warrant.
Howard set another hearing for Andam on March 15.
Andam, 40, whose address is listed in court records as Highland in Utah County, was charged last July with felony counts of securities fraud, money laundering and being an unlicensed broker while effecting securities transactions.
Andam — a Brigham Young University track star who represented Ghana in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and competed with the nation's 4X100 relay team — allegedly defrauded the unnamed victims of their life savings of $325,000, according to charging documents.
Andam, in July 2011, claimed the money would be invested in a company called Globa, which Andam said was a holding company and mobile money transfer platform for Barclays Bank in London, charge state.
But three months later, the alleged victims were unable to get cash from the account, charges state. They eventually received $30,000 from Andam, which is the only money they have gotten back, charges state.
Bank records show that the money was moved through multiple transfers to accounts owned by Andam, charges state.