Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a once-prominent Utah businessman now in prison for lying to banks but said he should be resentenced.
A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled Thursday that a judge in Salt Lake City erred in tallying prison term guidelines before sentencing St. George businessman Jeremy Johnson in 2016 to 11 years and three months in prison.
U.S. Attorney John Huber said he was pleased that Johnson's conviction was affirmed, while Johnson's attorney, Karra Porter, told the Salt Lake Tribune it was disheartening that it was not overturned.
Johnson, 42, was convicted of eight charges of making false statements to banks to benefit his online business, iWorks. A jury that cleared him of dozens more charges including conspiracy and fraud.
U.S. District Judge David Nuffer added time to Johnson's sentence based on a finding that Johnson received more than $1 million as a result of his offenses.
The appeals panel ruled that prosecutors failed to prove that Wells Fargo Bank relied on false statements from Johnson in releasing funds.
The helicopter-flying Johnson was a well-known political donor and millionaire philanthropist. He became a central figure in influence-peddling allegations that led to criminal charges against former Utah state attorneys general Mark Shurtleff and John Swallow.
Charges against Shurtleff were dropped in 2016, and a jury acquitted Swallow of criminal charges in 2017.
Swallow declared himself vindicated earlier this month following the dismissal of a Federal Election Commission lawsuit alleging that he helped Johnson illegally funnel donations to the campaigns of politicians, including Shurtleff and former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
