SALT LAKE CITY — Imprisoned fraudster Rick Koerber wants a federal judge to release him because he says his health issues make him vulnerable to COVID-19.

“Indeed, he has been hospitalized on two prior occasions after catching two viruses less dangerous than COVID-19. Because of this great risk, he will be more safely confined at his home in rural Utah,” according to an emergency petition for compassionate release his attorney filed in U.S. District Court last week.

“Rick therefore respectfully requests that he be ordered released on home confinement, immediately.”

Koerber, a Utah real estate investor, ran a Ponzi scheme that federal authorities say caused more than $45 million in losses. A jury convicted him of 15 counts of wire fraud, fraud in the offer and sale of securities, and money laundering in September 2018.

Last October, a judge sentenced him to 14 years and two months in prison. He is incarcerated at Terminal Island, a low-security federal prison in San Pedro, California. An appeal of his conviction is pending.

The Utah U.S. Attorney’s Office argues in court papers that while the coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented global health crisis, it does not warrant Koerber’s release. Prosecutors say his request is the latest in a long line of motions he has filed in an effort to avoid confinement for his crimes.

“The COVID-19 crisis is serious, and no one takes lightly concerns for the health and safety of anyone particularly at risk,” prosecutors wrote. “But Koerber has a credibility problem, and his justifications for this seventh petition for release remain suspect, at best.”

The government also contends Koerber remains a danger to the community.

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Specific information about Koerber’s medical condition or history is redacted from the public version of his motion. Prosecutors say he is relying on outdated medical records to claim he is at higher risk of becoming infected.

Koerber’s motion notes that severe cases of COVID-19 require the use of a ventilator.

“A sentence that includes such a painful illness or death would be disproportionate to the seriousness of the offense for which Rick was convicted, and would not serve to promote respect for the law or just punishment for the offense,” according to the motion.

The motion also notes that at least eight federal inmates have died from the virus, including a 43-year-old man with long-term, preexisting medical conditions that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists as risk factors for developing more severe COVID-19.

“That is precisely Rick’s medical history, and Rick is older than that inmate, which confirms that Rick is high risk and ideal for home confinement,” according to the motion.

Koerber asked the judge to place him on home confinement, including an ankle monitor, in Grouse Creek, a tiny ranching community in Box Elder County where his mother and in-laws live. He claims the town of about 50 residents is diligently self-isolating to protect against the virus. Once he is permitted to seek employment, Koerber intends to pursue a job as a laborer for one of the local ranchers in the area, the motion says.

Koeber also claims the prison is ill-equipped to handle a pandemic.

He lives in a dorm with about 100 other inmates and shares a two-man bunk bed, which is separated from the neighboring bunk beds by about 3 1⁄2 feet. A few inmates in his dorm work at the medical center and many inmates sleep with a blanket over their head and face in an attempt to protect against the infection. Some staff members do not wear masks while interacting with inmates, including while searching them in pat-downs.

“His assertions, both about his own health, and about conditions inside Terminal Island, should not be believed. Dishonest behavior is, sadly, a hallmark of Koerber’s history and character,” prosecutors wrote.

Prosecutors also contend the court doesn’t have jurisdiction to consider Koerber’s request because the newly passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act requires he give the Bureau of Prisons 30 days to consider his request, which he has not done. They say the prison has the most current information on Koerber’s medical condition and is in the best position to evaluate his medical and housing placement needs.

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