Jury: Marc Jenson not guilty in fraud, money laundering trial


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SALT LAKE CITY — After more than 14 hours of deliberation and 11 days of testimony, a jury on Friday exonerated one of the key figures in the criminal cases against former Attorneys General Mark Shurtleff and John Swallow of fraud and money laundering.

The five-man, three-woman jury determined that Marc Sessions Jenson is not guilty of four counts of communications fraud and four counts of money laundering.

The outcome of the case helps to prove that the charges against Jenson were political payback from the embattled Utah Attorney General's Office, defense attorney Marcus Mumford said.

Jenson, who became emotional as he testified over three days, wept and embraced his legal team as the verdict was read late Friday. That emotion was echoed by family members who waited throughout the day for the verdict and were in the courtroom when the decision was read.

A convicted federal felon whose business practices have found him facing charges on several incidents over the past 25 years, Jenson was accused in the latest case of not disclosing his criminal past when he asked investors to buy million-dollar memberships to an exclusive ski and golf resort he was developing.

The project's failure notwithstanding, no scheme was uncovered, Mumford said, citing emails and documents presented in the case that seemed to contradict victims' claims.

The Mount Holly Club, pitched as a lavish getaway on 2,000 acres in the Tushar Mountains, was meant to renovate the former Elk Meadows resort in Beaver County. Plans included selling 1,200 building lots starting at $1 million each, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and a ski area managed by Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety. Jenson said the development would repeat the success of the Yellowstone Club in Montana.

Some investors gave their life savings or lost their businesses when the proposed resort ultimately failed.

But Jenson testified of the eagerness of the four investors named in the case. The defense shared enthusiastic emails and described extravagant parties, trips in private jets, and meetings with Nicklaus and Ligety — all illustrating the apparent momentum behind the project.

Marc Sessions Jenson was found not guilty Friday, Jan. 30, 2015, of communications fraud and money laundering in connection with the failed Mount Holly golf and ski resort near Beaver. The case had ties to the criminal cases of former Utah Attorneys General Mark Shurtleff and John Swallow.
 (Photo: Leah Hogsten/Pool)
Marc Sessions Jenson was found not guilty Friday, Jan. 30, 2015, of communications fraud and money laundering in connection with the failed Mount Holly golf and ski resort near Beaver. The case had ties to the criminal cases of former Utah Attorneys General Mark Shurtleff and John Swallow. (Photo: Leah Hogsten/Pool)

Prosecutor Tim Taylor argued that the Mount Holly project, though it may have begun in earnest, was teetering toward collapse from the start. He claimed Jenson sought money through memberships in a desperate attempt to keep the development going and never came through with some of the perks promised to investors.

"We knew this was a tough case coming in," Taylor said after the verdict. "This was a failed business venture. … At the time when they started to run out of money and then were seeking investors and not explaining that they were running out of money, that's where we think the scheme began."

Taylor asked the jury to consider the things Jenson didn't tell potential investors as well as what he did say as he persuaded investors, some giving up their life savings, to buy into the club. Witnesses testified that Jenson pitched the project as "debt-free," and while it was his brother who was supposedly acting as owner and operator, Marc Jenson was the one running the show.

"Regardless of what his title was, Marc Jenson was running the company," Taylor said in his closing arguments.

Mumford argued the Mount Holly project had all the makings of a highly successful venture, but it fell apart when its primary backer stopped following through on its commitments. The New York-based hedge fund XE Capital was moving to eventually take over the development, and some of those original partners own it today, Mumford said.

Jenson testified that he took steps to inform potential investors of his unflattering history from the beginning, including directing them to news coverage of his prior convictions, starting during their first meetings. His past was too big and too high-profile to hide, he argued.

Mumford contended that the "unified front" of victims in the case have aligned their stories to implicate Jenson, insinuating that there were "hush money" agreements between some of them and back-room deals with the attorney general's office, and implying that prosecutors had selectively redacted documents during the trial.

Jenson's testimony during the trial often turned back to previous convictions and his accusations toward Shurtleff and Swallow. He says the two pressured him for money on more than one occasion and they filed charges against him as a political favor.

Mumford attempted to subpoena Shurtleff, Swallow and former Mount Holly associate Tim Bell to testify in the case, all of whom objected.

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Mumford asked jurors if they were "just a little bit curious" about what they would have testified.

Disgruntled investors pointed their fingers at Jenson rather than XE Capital after two closed-door meetings with Shurtleff when he was attorney general, Mumford argued.

Shurtleff and Swallow are facing their own criminal charges centered around Jenson, who claims they shook him down for money and favors during a trip to the posh Southern California villa where he was living in 2009.

The Utah Attorney General's Office, led by Shurtleff, initially filed charges against Jenson but removed itself from the case in 2013. Mumford sent subpoenas to Shurtleff and Swallow to testify during the trial. Their lawyers filed objections, which 3rd District Court Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills upheld.

Jenson referred often to his previous conviction when he ultimately took a plea in abeyance on charges of securities fraud. He alleged the plea deal was crafted behind the scenes with Shurtleff through a go-between, Shurtleff's self-described "fixer," Tim Lawson.

Jenson is now serving a 10-year prison sentence after failing to pay restitution in the case. In his testimony, however, Jenson claims he had paid about $2 million in restitution, paying the money directly and bypassing the courts under direction of the attorney general's office.

Prosecutors contend that transfers from Jenson's bank account at the time don't match up with his story.

Marc Jenson's brother, Stephen Roger Jenson, was also charged in the case and accepted a plea deal partway through the trial, pleading no contest to three reduced charges of third-degree felony communications fraud, while one additional fraud charge and 10 counts of money laundering, all second-degree felonies, were dismissed. He will be sentenced March 30.

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McKenzie Romero

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