Orem man accused of lying to investors

Orem man accused of lying to investors

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SALT LAKE CITY — An Orem man made about $1.5 million by making generous promises on investments but instead depositing money in his personal account, according to charges filed Thursday in 3rd District Court.

Clark Smith Gardner, 54, is charged with 34 criminal counts for allegedly fooling several would-be investors between November 2011 and April 2014. He is charged with carrying on a pattern of unlawful activity and communications fraud, both second-degree felonies, and eight counts each of second-degree felony securities fraud, second-degree felony theft, and third-degree felony sale of an unregistered security.

A warrant was also issued for Gardner's arrest Thursday.

Gardner allegedly guaranteed high rates of return to clients but used their investments to finance luxurious vacations and other personal items.


Gardner admitted ... that he "deposited the funds into his personal (bank) account and used them for personal and business expenses unrelated to the investment," - AG's claim in charging document

Gardner, who was licensed to sell securities in Utah before September 2014, is formally accused of promising several investors returns of between 8 percent and 10 percent related to the purported purchase of a life insurance policy.

The Utah Attorney General's Office claims Gardner admitted to investigators and at least one investor that he "desposited the funds into his personal (bank) account and used them for personal and business expenses unrelated to the investment," according to charging documents.

Gardner "made Ponzi payments to previous investors," using one check made to him by a Montana woman in April 2014 totaling $243,000, the charges state. He also profited from facilitating the sale of a home in Indiana to the same woman for about $150,000, despite the property being valued at roughly one-third that amount, according to court documents.

Gardner worked with an unlicensed real estate agent to complete that deal and received nearly $21,000 for his role in the sale, charging documents state.

Gardner has worked in the securities industry since 1997. He was reportedly employed by Sammons Securities Co. from 2002 to 2013 and Cetera Advisors for about five months before being terminated in May 2014.

An industry licensing body reportedly filed a complaint against Gardner in September 2014, claiming he fraudulently sold life insurance without the knowledge of his employer. Charges don't specify which employers are named as unknowing parties in that complaint, or whether either company is being investigated in connection with Gardner's alleged fraud.

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Ben Lockhart

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