Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
POINT OF THE MOUNTAIN, Utah (AP) -- The state Board of Pardons has rejected a recommended March 15 parole date for swindler Wayne Ogden.
The board had been asked to sign off on a stipulation by Ogden's attorney and the attorney general on eight alleged parole violations that landed the 40-year-old former Weber County real estate dealer back in prison Sept. 9.
Four lawsuits filed early last year against Ogden in 3rd District Court alleging fraud got prison officials' attention, along with the ongoing FBI investigation of Ogden's activities since his parole to Sandy.
The stipulation carried a March 15 release date for Ogden. But the board said that instead, it will hold another hearing in September. At that time, the board could set a parole date or opt to keep him in prison pending a future rehearing.
The four lawsuits pending in 3rd District Court allege Ogden took more than $9 million from investors in a Kiowa, Colo., land development proposal.
Co-defendants in the civil suits tied to Kiowa, a Denver suburb, include his partners in the now-bankrupt Empire Investment Group in Sandy.
Ogden was first sent to prison in 1998 for bilking some 500 investors, mostly his friends and neighbors, out of an estimated $7 million. Investigators said Ogden was promoting a real-estate development that was never more than a Ponzi scheme.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
