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VERNAL — A Vernal man was charged Friday with defrauding his employer by convincing him to invest $65,000 in a trucking app, but spending only about a quarter of that amount developing it.
Courtney Blaine Pierce, 40, was charged in 8th District Court with securities fraud and theft, second-degree felonies.
Pierce approached his employer in May 2014 and talked to him about an app he wanted to develop that "would allow trucking companies to bid on projects," charging documents state. "The projects would involve moving oil drilling equipment from one site to another."
Pierce allegedly told the man that he and his wife would receive 50 percent ownership of the company that housed the app and promised about $10 million per year in profits. He claimed to his employer that the investment would be returned in full within three months and that about 100 companies were expected to purchase the app, according to the charges.
The victim was never registered as a part of BizPatch, LLC, the company in question, court documents allege. Police say the man made payments of $35,000 and $30,000 in June and August 2014.
But instead of putting the money into the BizPatch account, Pierce's charges say he deposited it into a personal account. About $44,441 of that amount was spent on golf, purchases at Wal-Mart, cellphone and utility bills, travel, dining, gas and ATM withdrawals, the charges state. Only about $16,500 was "invested for expenses that could have been related to developing the app," police and prosecutors wrote.
State court records indicate Pierce has no prior criminal history in Utah.
