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SALT LAKE CITY — Two Fundamentalist LDS men accused of food stamp fraud had contact with each other four times at the end of July, violating the terms of their release from jail, federal authorities say.
A third man, Preston Yeates Barlow, was also booked into the Washington County Jail on Tuesday for allegedly being with Seth Steed Jeffs and John Clifton Wayman.
The defendants are not allowed to have contact with potential witnesses or co-defendants as a condition of remaining free pending trial. GPS monitoring showed Jeffs and Wayman were at the same location on July 26, 28, 29 and 30, according to U.S. Pretrial Services. Barlow was allegedly with the other two on July 29.
A federal magistrate judge in St. George set Aug. 9 hearings for Jeffs and Wayman before U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart in Salt Lake City. Barlow is scheduled to appear before the magistrate judge Wednesday.
Jeffs, the brother of imprisoned FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, and Wayman were arrested Monday. They are being held in the Washington County Jail.
Seth Jeffs, Wayman and Barlow are among 11 FLDS Church members who were charged in February with misusing food stamps and diverting the money to front companies and buy equipment. They have pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors argued to keep Seth Jeffs and Wayman in jail after their arrests earlier, but Stewart released them with certain conditions including GPS monitoring. Prosecutors agreed to release Barlow under those same terms.
Stewart also released Lyle Steed Jeffs, another of Warren Jeffs' brothers and acting leader of the FLDS Church, over prosecutors' objections. He apparently used olive oil to slip off his GPS ankle monitor and flee a Salt Lake County home where he was living last month. He remains a fugitive.
Contributing: Ladd Egan
