John Dudley Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud in Connection with Investment Fraud Scheme

SALT LAKE CITY—John S. Dudley, age 58, of Sandy, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City this week and agreed to pay restitution of approximately $6,868,000 to victims of a fraudulent investment scheme. The final restitution amount will be determined by the court.

The plea agreement includes a recommendation to the court that a 60-month sentence be imposed in the case. Sentencing in the case is set for July 25, 2013, in U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby’s courtroom. Federal prosecutors will also recommend that Dudley be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for removal proceedings following the completion of his sentence—a process Dudley agreed not to contest as a part of his plea agreement. Dudley is a citizen of Great Britain.

Dudley was charged in a 17-count indictment returned in May 2011 in connection with what the indictment alleged was a scheme to induce individuals to invest money with him for use in various investment programs.

The indictment alleged Dudley made a variety of representations to potential investors, including telling them they could expect monthly returns of five to ten percent; that he had not suffered a trading loss since 1978; that investors’ funds would be used exclusively for investment purposes; that he had personally done very well in his investments and had never made less than five percent per month over the last 30 years; that investors’ money was backed by a “senior life settlement policy” that reduced or eliminated investors’ risk of loss; and that investing with him was an exclusive opportunity with only a limited number of investors allowed to invest with him at one time.

As a part of the plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors, Dudley admitted he sent an e-mail to an individual, identified as U.A. in the plea agreement, with the subject line “Re: Castle Creek Bank Details.” He admitted that the e-mail was a part of his attempt to execute the fraud scheme by obtaining money under false representations. Investor U.A. is identified in the indictment as a Utah Department of Commerce’s Division of Securities investigator acting in an undercover capacity in the indictment.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City and investigated by special agents and investigators of the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation Division, and the Utah Department of Commerce.