Fraud charges dropped against 2 Utah brokers

The Utah Division of Securities on Friday said it had dropped securities fraud charges against two more First Western Advisors brokers and apologized for a March 12 news release that may have harmed their reputations.

In Friday's news release, the division said charges brought against Gary W. Teran and Carl A. Page have been dropped and "expressed regret" for any harm caused by the March 12 release.

"The division and Teran and Page resolved the remaining claims against them to the satisfaction of the Utah Division of Securities," Friday's statement said.

The division on March 12 alleged that First Western and two current and two former brokers were part of securities fraud involving nine Utahns who invested more than $20.6 million. It said at the time it had filed a petition to revoke and bar licenses and impose fines against First Western and brokers Teran, Page, David A. Russon and Brian G. Kasteler. Teran is the company's president, and Russon and Kasteler are former First Western brokers.

The division had alleged that their actions violated the Utah Securities Act and included eight counts of violating securities laws, including securities fraud for failing to disclose material facts to clients, recommending unsuitable investments, giving false account information to clients and attempting to change client testimony to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

On March 21, the division announced it was dropping the charges against Russon and Kasteler and expressed regret for any harm the earlier press release may have caused to the men's reputation.

Teran had said March 12 that he was surprised by the division filing because the SEC and National Association of Securities Dealers had reviewed the matter and did not file charges.

First Western has offices in Salt Lake City and Provo.