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SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge ordered two Fundamentalist LDS Church leaders Tuesday to remain behind bars pending trial for alleged fraudulent use of food stamps.
Seth Jeffs and John Wayman violated the terms of a pretrial release agreement prohibiting them from contact with co-defendants and potential witnesses in the case, U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart found.
Jeffs, 43, and Wayman, 56, were summoned to a meeting last month with Nephi Jeffs, who received instructions from imprisoned FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. The two met additional times after that, court records show.
Stewart also wasn't convinced that Seth Jeffs and Wayman would not flee or pose a danger to the community.
"The evidence supports the conclusion that defendants will follow the dictates of Warren Jeffs, even if they run counter to the orders of the court," the judge wrote about both men.
Seth Jeffs and Wayman are among 11 FLDS members charged in February with misusing food stamps and diverting millions of dollars to front companies and buy equipment. They have pleaded not guilty.
Seth Jeffs is being held in the Weber County Jail and Wayman in the Davis County Jail.
One defendant, Lyle Jeffs, apparently used olive oil to slip off his GPS ankle monitor and flee a Salt Lake County home in June. Authorities have not found him.
