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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A Washington County man has pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud in what federal prosecutors said was a $5.4 million Ponzi scheme.
Stephen Scott Alder, 49, is to be sentenced Dec. 8 by U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell.
As part of a plea bargain, prosecutors dropped two counts of money laundering and promised to argue for reduced prison time.
Alder was indicted last September on charges that he defrauded investors between January 1999 and May 2003 under business names that included "SSA Family Trust" and "SSA Services Inc."
Alder told investors he was putting their money into "a high-return asset management program" and an international currency fund, but actually invested just $1.36 million in his companies, using the remainder for his personal and business expenses and to pay initial investors, prosecutors said.
U.S. attorney spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch said the exact number of victims is unknown and the plea agreement calls for Alder to help identify and locate his investors.
The FBI has asked people who think they may have been victimized by Alder to contact the agency's St. George office at 435-628-7499.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
