$200,000 claim filed in car transactions

On Monday, the Utah Division of Securities announced that it had filed a claim against Dennis T. Wynn of Salt Lake County to cease and desist from offering unlicensed securities in a car enterprise.

The division is seeking $200,000 payment from Wynn. It said in a statement that Wynn promised investors they could earn huge profits by giving money to his companies — DFTF Financial Group and Arizona Cyber Auto.

Investors were told their money would be used to purchase vehicles at wholesale, the division said. The automobiles were expected to be sold to bad-credit customers at exorbitant interest rates. Profits would be split between Wynn and the investors.

The division said Wynn received a total of $82,026 from four unnamed investors. Only one investor received a partial payment on her investment, according to the division. It said the other three received neither interest nor principal from Wynn.

This is not the first time Wynn has been accused of promising investors double-digit returns on their money.

In 2002, Wynn was forced to close a Salt Lake used-car dealership after failing to pay off liens and deliver titles. Wynn reportedly had promised investors that their money would be collateralized with automobiles.

Officials said that never happened, resulting in the Salt Lake District Attorney's Office filing 37 misdemeanor charges against Wynn.

That same year, Wynn filed for bankruptcy protection, leaving his investors as unsecured creditors. In July, four years after filing, Wynn's bankruptcy case was closed.

Wynn's total assets in the bankruptcy case reportedly amounted to roughly $112,000. Yet, in a sworn affidavit by Wynn in 2002, he said total unsecured debt of two of his companies — Wynn Co. and W.F.G. Acceptance Inc. — amounted to $49 million.

Wayne Klein, director of the Utah Division of Securities, said Wynn's case is not unique. About half of the division's enforcement actions this year involve promissory notes.

"If it is a security, then he needs to be licensed to sell it. He needs to have a prospectus that we've reviewed, and he needs to give full disclosure to all the customers," Klein said. "Full disclosure includes telling them, 'Oh, by the way, in my last business deal I cheated people out of $49 million. Would you still like to invest?' He can only get money by hiding his history."

A hearing for Wynn has been scheduled for Oct. 16.

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E-mail: danderton@desnews.com