SALT LAKE CITY — Two more people were arrested and charged Friday in the case of a group accused of exploiting more than $264,000 from an elderly St. George woman.

An arrest warrant was also issued Friday for Frank Gene Powell, 50, by the Utah State Board of Pardons and Parole. Powell was released from the Utah State Prison two years ago after spending nearly three decades behind bars.

Adult Probation and Parole calls Powell a “person of interest” in the case. But court documents paint him as the mastermind behind a scheme that took more than a quarter of a million dollars from an 80-year-old woman with a diminished mental capacity.

On Friday, Martell “Taz” Powell, 25, of Cedar City, and Rocky James Mott, 40, of Hurricane, Washington County, were each charged in 5th District Court with exploitation of a vulnerable adult, a second-degree felony.

Those charges come on the heels of two others being charged earlier this week, bringing the total number of people arrested in the investigation to four so far.

Faye Ann Renteria, 41, of St. George, was charged Thursday with 10 counts of exploitation of a vulnerable adult, nine second-degree felonies and one third-degree felony. Terrence Quincey Powell, 23, also of St. George, was charged with seven counts of exploitation of a vulnerable adult, one second-degree felony and six third-degree felonies.

The investigation began Tuesday after family members of the woman who reviewed her bank records found alarming amounts of money being given to a group of men allegedly doing work on her house, according to a police affidavit.

“I learned that the elderly woman had written checks and given these male suspects thousands of dollars in checks and currency,” the investigating officer wrote in the affidavit.

The leader of the group, believed to be Frank Powell, is only identified in court documents as a man currently on parole who was “supposedly engaged to the elderly 80-year-old woman,” according to the affidavit.

The woman had reportedly signed the family’s cabin over to this man and given him large amounts of money totaling $150,000 in three payments, the affidavit states, as well as other smaller payments.

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Group exploited $264K from elderly St. George woman, charges say

Two people face criminal charges and more arrests are expected in an extreme case of elder exploitation in southern Utah.

The victim met the parolee in March after police say he knocked on her door and told her he believed her home needed repairs and he was willing to do it for a fee.

The man is accused of bringing several associates over to do repairs. But the men charged the woman exorbitant fees upfront for work that police say was either not completed, or in some cases done with such poor quality that “any reasonable person can see that these jobs will need to be redone” at a cost of several thousand dollars, the affidavit states.

Taz Powell and Mott were two of those workers, the affidavit states. Powell was given at least $16,000 by the woman, including one $15,000 payment, according to the affidavit.

“Taz confessed that he ‘didn’t feel right’ about taking that kind of money from the elderly woman. However, a month ago, he had no issues taking $16,000 from her for which he used to purchase a 2016 Buick Regal,” the affidavit states.

Mott would go to the elderly woman’s home to perform small jobs, according to police.

“For one particular job, Rocky was paid to repaint the stucco on her home. This job was never completed, and the workmanship within this job was extremely poor. This job should not cost a reasonable person more than $1,000,” the affidavit states. But Mott was allegedly paid $8,000 for the job.

“Rocky also admitted that he knew what he was doing was wrong, but claimed that the parolee directed him to take the money and give him a portion of it after he cashed it at his bank,” the affidavit states.

Powell and Renteria were arrested following a chase with police earlier this week.

Powell was last seen traveling in a white 2010 Toyota Venza with an Arizona temporary tag, according to an Adult Probation and Parole spokeswoman. He is believed to be traveling to the Nephi or Goshen area.

Powell was paroled in 2017 after serving more than 29 years in prison for murder. He was 19 years old when he ran over and killed a man in 1987 in Utah County following a fight over whose truck was faster.

During a parole hearing in 2017, Powell said he learned through a prison treatment program how to avoid making bad choices.

“I think the biggest thing that I learned was you have to have empathy for people. And you can’t just do stuff to people, you have to be held accountable for your actions” Powell said at the time. “I don’t think anybody should ever be hurt again. And that’s the biggest thing I learned is all the hurt and pain I caused everybody.”

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