Greg Bell denies allegation he accepted money from Brad Wilson as a political favor

Former Utah Lt. Gov. Greg Bell denies allegations in a recent lawsuit that he received a loan, which was allegedly later forgiven, from Brad Wilson. Bell also says he “was never in a position” to do any political favors for Wilson, who is the outgoing Utah House speaker and is now a U.S. Senate candidate.

In a statement Thursday to The Salt Lake Tribune, Bell said that “Brad Wilson and his company never loaned me, Chris Martineau or our company any money,” but a company Wilson co-founded, Destination Homes, did buy real estate from him in 2006. Martineau is Bell’s business partner and is also mentioned in the lawsuit.

The former lieutenant governor and state senator’s statement comes the day after The Tribune reported that Wilson has been sued for breaching a contract and other allegations of financial misconduct at Destination Homes. Bell had initially declined to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit.

“In 2006 Brad’s company agreed to buy several lots from my company, as did two other builders. When the financial crisis hit in 2008, it froze credit markets and made these deals unworkable. We returned part of their deposit, and we mutually agreed to resolve all claims and go our separate ways,” Bell said. “We made the exact same arrangement with the two other builders as well. I was never in a position to do Brad any political favors, nor did he ask for any.”

The lawsuit, filed Sept. 28 by David Peterson, the former chief financial officer for Destination Homes, alleges that after he lent the company $430,000, Wilson refused to pay the agreed-upon interest on the loan and Wilson allegedly didn’t hold up his end of a deal that guaranteed Peterson a share of the stock in the company.

The lawsuit also alleged that Wilson lent money to Bell, who was then a Utah state senator, before forgiving the loan, which Bell now denies happened.

Wilson’s attorney, Chris Hogle, said previously that the lawsuit is baseless and lacks merit.

“David Peterson is a disgruntled former employee of a company that Brad Wilson co-founded,” Hogle said in a statement. “Peterson has sought to transform an unfounded, years-old dispute with his former employer into a groundless lawsuit against Brad Wilson with false allegations timed to smear Brad Wilson and hurt his political campaign. We intend to vigorously defend Mr. Wilson and pursue all available remedies.”

Hogle later added he believes the suit to be a politically-motivated shakedown by one of Wilson’s former business associates.

Alan Mortensen, an attorney representing Peterson, said previously the lawsuit’s timing has nothing to do with Wilson’s run for Senate. Wilson formally launched his U.S. Senate campaign on Sept. 27, and the lawsuit was filed in Salt Lake City’s 3rd District Court the following day.