Business owner is indicted in securities fraud

The owner of a Salt Lake City vehicle sales and leasing business has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of mail and securities fraud, stemming from a scheme that bilked at least 185 investors out of more than $15 million.

Dennis T. Wynn, 52, of Salt Lake City, was indicted this week on four counts of mail fraud, two counts of securities fraud and one count of selling unregistered securities.

According to the indictment, Wynn approached people from Utah, Arizona, California and Idaho to invest in his Utah-based Wynn Company, which leased and sold used vehicles to high credit risk customers.

The indictment states Wynn employed several "lender representatives" and held seminars to recruit investors. Wynn allegedly told investors their investments would be monitored in a third-party escrow agent and would be secured by property valued at 150 percent of the investment. Prosecutors say those claims were untrue and that those charged with holding investment funds were not bonded escrow agents.

U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman said this case is a prime example of why potential investors need to do their homework on checking the background of companies before putting money into them.

"When you hear a sales pitch for a potential investment opportunity, check it out before you write a check. Call state and federal securities regulators to make sure you have all of the available information before investing your hard-earned money," Tolman said.

Wynn has been issued a summons to appear in court for arraignment. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years for each fraud count and 10 years maximum for the unregistered securities count.

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E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com