Santaquin man gets 41 months in prison for bilking investors of $1.7M

SALT LAKE CITY — A Santaquin man will spend more than three years in jail for bilking investors out of $1.7 million in a foreign currency exchange scheme.

U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups sentenced Darren Lee Shanks, 43, to 41 months in a federal prison Thursday. Shanks pleaded guilty to the charge in May.

Shanks had some success investing his own money in foreign currency exchanges, according to prosecutors, but he suffered losses when he began using investors' money. Instead of telling investors of the losses, Shanks began operating a Ponzi scheme, according to court documents.

When the program collapsed in 2009, Shanks owed more than $1.7 million to some 36 investors. As part of his sentence, Shanks was ordered to pay restitution.