Estimated read time: 9-10 minutes
PROVO — Victims embraced in a Provo courtroom Friday as the man they called a predator, a swindler and a fraud was handcuffed and taken away by a bailiff.
Nathanael "Nate" Reid Holzapfel was immediately taken into custody to begin serving an unexpected prison sentence after a judge rejected probation recommendations from a plea agreement and denied Holzapfel's request to withdraw his guilty pleas.
Holzapfel, 44, pleaded guilty on June 21 to three counts of communications fraud, a second-degree felony, and three counts of sexual battery, a class A misdemeanor, in a plea deal that took into account eight different criminal cases filed against him. In exchange, 17 other charges against him were dismissed.
Investigators say Holzapfel — despite being married — targeted women on dating apps, investigated their financial situations as he developed relationships and honed in on women who were "vulnerable," such as women who recently lost a loved one and were left with insurance money. He then defrauded them, charges say.
His plea bargain with prosecutors included a provision that said he could withdraw the plea if the judge did not sentence him according to their recommendations for probation. But the deal only represents what prosecutors agreed to support.
Fourth District Judge Thomas Low said that agreement allowing Holzapfel to withdraw the guilty plea is "directly contrary to Utah law." He said since the plea arrangements were not approved by him before the plea was entered, Holzapfel cannot withdraw his guilty pleas and he rejected motions to do so by Holzapfel's attorney, Nathan Crane.
Low sentenced Holzapfel to a term of one to 15 years in prison for communications fraud, a second-degree felony, in one case, and to three terms of one year in jail in three other cases for sexual battery, a class A misdemeanor, which he said could be served in prison concurrently with the other sentence.
The judge said if Holzapfel is a good inmate in prison he will likely be out in less than two years and would be able to then work toward paying about $300,000 back to his victims in order to fulfill the requirements of his pleas in abeyance within 36 months — one year less than the plea agreement suggested, but the maximum amount Low said was allowed to impose under Utah law.
Low said he understood the plea deal took a long time to reach, but he said "the treachery and abuse that has occurred also occurred over a long period of time." He said that the impact of the crimes on Holzapfel's victims was not "held in a abeyance."
He said when the plea was entered, he made it clear to Holzapfel that the court was not bound to follow the terms of the plea.
Victims' shared experiences
As three victims told their stories in court and their experiences with Holzapfel were similar. Each was dealing with grief when they met Holzapfel, who made similar comments to each of them, used sexual intimacy to gain trust, lied about his marital status, gave excuses for why they could not meet his children and used his father's status as a church leader to gain respect.
"I was promised the world and I was delivered a nightmare. It's all purposeful and I can see that now. Everything is plotted and planned," said one victim, Courtney Morton.
"I was told that he loved me, that he wanted to marry me and start a new life. All the while he was still married. He told me he was divorced. He emotionally abused me, manipulated every situation. I, too, have trust issues. I've been in intensive therapy ever since. My life will never be the same."
She said that through fraud, Holzapfel took her home and her car, which was designed for her to use to help her son who is in a wheelchair. Morton said he has not shown any remorse or regret toward her but has had a "pompous, egotistical" response. She said he told her he had a team of attorneys and that he could murder her and get away with it.
"He needs to be stopped," she told the judge. "I beg you, this court, to please protect the most vulnerable in society."
Holzapfel's responsibility and plea
Holzapfel began his statements to the court on Friday by saying the victims who spoke "are some of the nicest people in the whole darn world, just lovely, nice people, and I'm so sorry that they've gotten drug into this."
He said he feels sorry for people who are "so upset about things" and understands why and wants everyone to feel good.
Holzapfel said he has tried to live a "reasonably straight-forward life" and plans not to come in front of a judge again.
In his plea, Holzapfel admitted to defrauding a woman he was dating between February and November 2020 and convincing two other women to invest in his businesses, yet he didn't pass any investment returns to them.
As part of the plea deal he reached with the Utah County Attorney's Office, prosecutors agreed not to recommend that he be incarcerated and that Holzapfel would not have to be on the state sex offender registry. Prosecutors also agreed to dismiss 17 charges against him — three counts of communications fraud, three counts of theft by deception, one charge of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, four counts of forcible sexual abuse, theft, being an unlicensed broker and four counts of lewdness — completely dismissing two of the eight cases.
He agreed not to have contact with the victims, to receive mental health treatment, to be listed on the state's white-collar crime registry and serve 48 months of probation.
Crane said he began working with prosecutors on the agreement shortly after the cases were filed, and there were 18 months of negotiations. He said Holzapfel told him over 18 months ago that he wanted to take responsibility for his actions but resolving multiple cases is difficult.
"He takes full responsibility for his actions … and he wants to move on," Crane told the judge.
Crane explained that the plea deal was designed to give incentives for Holzepfel to give the required money back to his victims quickly.
Deputy Utah County attorney Pete Reichman said prosecutors' objective when reaching the plea deal was for Holzapfel to take accountability, to protect the public and to get money for the victims.
Of the victims he worked with during the plea deal process, Reichman said "they're all wonderful." He said he is sure what the judge did means a lot to each victim and he is happy for them.
"We had a lot of hard conversations ... sometimes hard feelings here and there, but I respect each one of them and their opinions, dearly," he said.
Victim's response to the plea
The victims expressed their displeasure with the plea agreement, yet supported it so other victims wouldn't need to testify at trial and would receive money.
As part of the plea deal, Holzapfel entered a plea in abeyance for two charges of communications fraud. Low agreed with this part, despite saying the actions were "egregious" after ensuring a victim associated with one of those cases agreed, and said Holzapfel would not be convicted on the charges if he pays the money back in the next 36 months.
"You're the victim here, and from what I've read, you've been severely victimized," he told the woman.
The woman said she trusted the legal system and would respect the sentence and wanted to move the process forward, but she felt it was a soft way to handle what had been done to her as a victim. She expressed she was sorry that Holzapfel's children were in the room before talking about how he manipulated her.
"You gained my trust through sexual intimacy, denied being married, told me I couldn't meet your children. ... You are a gifted swindler," she said.
She said her life was changed because she swiped right on a dating app and matched with him.
Sammi Turnbow, another victim, said she wanted to be known by her name, not by the initials that are typically used in cases associated with sex crimes. She said she was the first "survivor" of Holzapfel to come forward.
"I deserve to be seen and heard as a real-life person, with a name and a face … a real-life person who was and is still deeply affected by the terrifying actions of this predator," she said.
This predator is dangerous; this assault was way more than inappropriate touching as the new charges indicate.
–Sammi Turnbow
Holzapfel admitted in the plea deal to touching the breast of one woman and the buttocks of two different women in 2020 and 2021, but Turnbow said the plea deal, which downgraded the charge associated with her case to sexual battery, does not accurately represent her experiences.
"This predator is dangerous; this assault was way more than inappropriate touching as the new charges indicate," she said.
She said in 2020 he sought her out and that she matched his typical victim profile: She was recently divorced, had a child with special needs and was a home and business owner.
"He was very skilled at manipulating, gaining trust and getting that information," she said.
Turnbow said once Holzapfel realized he wasn't getting what he wanted from her, he "took (her) body," pushing her against a truck and holding her down. She said she repeatedly told him to stop and tried to get away from him, over nearly 45 minutes which "seemed like eternity."
"He said, 'If I wanted to rape you I would have done it already, relax,'" she told the court.
Turnbow said she was told the plea deal was made with an agreement that Holzapfel would pay half of the restitution amount up front. She told the judge she believes he will offend again, and said she was "appalled" at the plea agreement where he was "literally buying his way out."
"I forgive you. I hope that your wives and daughters can, as well," Turnbow said to the attorneys who worked on the plea deal.
Despite agreeing to the plea, she asked the judge to give Holzapfel the maximum sentence, which she said would protect other women from being assaulted by him.
'Some justice'
After the sentence, Turnbow said seeing Holzapfel handcuffed and knowing he is going to prison is likely the only justice victims the case will have. She called the outcome of the hearing "a huge surprise."
"It was due time for some justice in this case," she said.
Turnbow said since Holzapfel is not on the sex offender registry, she hopes his face is published to protect other potential victims.
Reichman said although Holzapfel will not be on the sex offender registry due to the plea agreement downgrading charges, if Holzapfel gets one more conviction for sexual battery he will be.
Holzapfel appeared on ABC's "Shark Tank" TV show in 2013 to pitch the Mission Belt, a belt that uses a ratchet instead of a buckle so it is able to adjust to any size. He was a co-founder of the company, but he left nine years ago and has not recently been associated with it.
Correction: A comment from Turnbow was previously directed at Holzapfel, but was meant for attorneys.
