OGDEN, Utah – Two men are facing federal charges after allegedly cheating 80 investors out of $11 million in a fraudulent trading program that one of the men claimed to have received the idea for during a “spiritual revelation,” court document state.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City by the Securities and Exchange Commission, alleges 65-year-old Thomas J. Robbins, of Heber City, and 50-year-old Daniel J. Merriman, of Kaysville, along with two other men, were involved in the scheme.
The complaint claims the men told investors that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was their client and that they could expect at least 20% in profits each month.
They also allegedly told investors that Robbins had a “spiritual revelation” in 2008 about an algorithm for trading currencies, commodities, indices, stocks, bonds and more.
Robbins and Merriman reportedly met while they were incarcerated. Robbins was sentenced to five years in prison in 2011 and was ordered to pay $2.4 million in restitution after pleading guilty to being involved with another fraud scheme. Merriman was convicted of three felony counts of securities fraud in 2009.
They created the fraudulent trading scheme after they were released.
The complaint also states that 47-year-old Clark J. Madsen and 44-year-old Mark W. Wiseman, both of Sandy, worked with Robbins and Merriman to devise the scheme to sell millions of fraudulent stock shares in a technology company founded by Madsen.
All four men were charged with securities violations. Robbins and Merriman were also charged with violating broker-dealer registration provisions.