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SALT LAKE CITY — There was a guilty plea, but not quite a complete resolution Thursday in the case of a Lindon man charged federally with bilking millions of dollars from people in a Ponzi scheme.
Jeffrey Lane Mowen agreed to a plea bargain, pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud. In exchange, prosecutors dropped other charges, including murder-for-hire.
But Mowen, 48 -- who had many of his own letters and documents spread out on a table in front of him and asked many legal questions during his hearing -- declined to be sentenced Thursday, saying he would rather wait until a pre-sentence report was completed.
"We were surprised by the turn of events," U.S. Attorney for Utah Carlie Christensen said of the delayed sentencing.
Between 2006 and 2008, prosecutors say approximately 200 victims lost between $9 million and $10 million to Mowen and his Ponzi scheme. After he was charged, Mowen went on the run for a short time before being captured in Panama.
While incarcerated, investigators say Mowen tried to hire another inmate to kill four key witnesses in his case.
Christensen said her office took the murder-for-hire charges very seriously, but agreed to the plea bargain to "achieve a greater good."
With Thursday's guilty plea, money that had been seized and was in holding pending a trial can now be distributed to Mowen's victims.
Mowen was originally facing 90 years in federal prison. Under his plea deal, he was expected to be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. With credit for time served and good behavior, he could be released in five or six years.
"We're very pleased with the sentence," Christensen said. "It's appropriate in this case. It's a very good sentence in a financial fraud case."
Mowen asks to delay sentencingMowen told Judge Dee Benson on Thursday he wanted to hold off on the sentencing.
"You're trying my patience," Benson told Mowen, while trying to convince him to be sentenced immediately as was expected. "Why not? You have this notion it's going to make a difference. ... It's not going to be different if we (sentence you) two weeks from now."
Nevertheless, Mowen said he did not want to be moved into a different cell in the Davis County Jail from the one he's currently in, which would happen once he's sentenced. And he said the pre-sentence report would help determine which federal prison he was sent to, something the U.S. Attorney's Office agreed was correct.
Mowen will now be sentenced April 15. He is still expected to be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, although in court he said he was considering asking for an extra day, believing it would ultimately result in more time off.
Hundreds of cars purchased by Mowen
In addition to the Ponzi scheme, Mowen also made headlines for purchasing about 200 cars, motorcycles and boats. Many of the cars were classic and collectors items, including a 1922 Ford 2D, a 1964 Chevy El Camino, a 1939 Jaguar, a 1946 Mercury Coupe, two 1934 Mercedes-Benzes, a 1903 Oldsmobile Horseless Carriage and three Ford Model Ts from 1918 and 1925. Other vehicles included Porsches, Cadillacs, T-Birds and BMW motorcycles.
Most of those vehicles were auctioned off in 2010 for nearly $2 million, with the money going to the victims. Under the plea agreement, Mowen forfeits assets and other property, including 29 vehicles not previously sold at the auction. Some of those vehicles include a 1923 Ford T-Bucket, a 1956 Corvair Engine Buggy, a 2004 Audi A8 Quattro and a 1966 Dodge Charger.
E-mail:preavy@ksl.com
