Ski 'player' charged with securities fraud

One of the players behind the redevelopment of a defunct ski area in southern Utah was arraigned Monday on charges of securities fraud and racketeering for unrelated business deals.

Marc Jenson's partners insist he has no ownership interest in the former Elk Meadows ski area, which they plan to turn into an exclusive resort. They said Jenson remains in charge of attracting wealthy buyers to the Mt. Holly Club, a proposed gated ski resort community.

Jenson pleaded not guilty in 4th District Court, where his lawyers said they planned to challenge a judge's decision binding the businessman over for trial on six felony counts. The lawyers were given until March 8 to file the court papers.

It isn't Jenson's first brush with the law.

He spent six months in federal prison in 1992 for bank fraud and failure to file income tax returns, state prosecutors said. In addition, he is a target of several civil suits filed by private investors who say they lost money dealing with the 46-year-old Holladay man. Jenson filed for personal bankruptcy in 1990.

One of the securities charges involves Jenson's failure to tell investors of his past and debts while raising millions of dollars for various deals, including an attempted takeover of the Mongoose bicycle division of Brunswick Corp., based in Lake Forest, Ill.

Prosecutor Charlene Barlow said Jenson was still raising money for the deal even after Brunswick sold Mongoose to Pacific Cycle Inc. of Madison, Wis., which calls itself North America's largest bicycle manufacturer and also owns the Schwinn brand.

Jenson, a principal of Nimbus Capital Partners, is in the business of supplying "hard-money" loans at high interest rates before business ventures can secure more conventional financing. He faces charges of misappropriating millions of dollars from two other Utah investors for so-called bridge loans.

"Marc is a very smart, successful businessman, but he's also a lender, and lenders aren't always the most popular people" when they call in a loan, said one of his defense lawyers, Rebecca Hyde. "There are a lot of people who think highly of him and, despite this problem, can continue to do business with him."

Count Mt. Holly Club principals among the believers.

"Marc is definitely helping as a marketing consultant," said Bill Quick, a public relations executive for Mt. Holly Partners.