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SALT LAKE CITY — A Cache Valley man claiming to be part of a top-secret military program allowing him access to warehouses full of Iraqi currency bilked investors of $1.7 million, the Securities and Exchange Commission says.
The SEC filed a civil complaint Thursday against Joshua Jay Hansen, 34, in federal court in Salt Lake City.
Hansen told investors from 2009 to 2016 that he and his business partner had special security clearances to invest in Iraqi dinar and oil contracts with various foreign governments and large oil companies, the complaint says. Forty-six investors put money into the scheme on promises of "spectacular" returns from 10 percent to 15,000 percent in 90 days, according to the SEC.
Hansen allegedly told investors that the investment risk was low and that the returns were "not a matter of if, but when."
He claimed his role in the transaction was to travel around the world on military planes to meet with people who owned massive amounts of Iraqi dinar to make a deal with them and that the U.S. government would follow behind him to pick up and authenticate the currency, according to the SEC.
"Hansen told investors that he saw warehouses the size of Sam’s Club filled with foreign currency bundled in shrink-wrap," the complaint says.
He showed investors a copy of a Wells Fargo Bank account in his name with a balance in excess of $4 billion, the SEC says.
The SEC alleges he knew the investments weren't profitable, that he didn't have access to a $4 billion bank account and that he used investor funds to pay for his personal living expenses.
Hansen signed a settlement agreement with the SEC admitting to violating securities law and agreeing pay back the $1.7 million, according to court documents.
