Utah A.G. reopens fraud probe of Envision Ogden

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah attorney general's office has reopened an investigation into whether an Ogden civic group misled contributors about the money it raised at a banquet dinner that went to a pair of candidates for the City Council.

Scott Reed, the chief of the attorney general's criminal division, told The Associated Press that he was looking at allegations that Envision Ogden raised the money to promote the city's outdoor amenities but funneled it to "political guys" through another organization.

At first, Reed said he didn't think the case merited prosecution. An investigative report released by the Utah Department of Public Safety to Utah newspapers in recent days quoted Reed telling state investigators in 2009 that he didn't believe the allegations amounted to fraud.

Reed said he hesitated because the allegations were politically motivated and he was overwhelmed with more important cases in 2009, but now has time to take a closer look.

"We want to take a look at a couple of additional things," Reed told the AP. "We're taking this back into our shop. We have the capacity to do this and start from the ground. The case is active and pending."

State investigators said Envision Ogden raised more than $20,000 from a banquet dinner in 2007 to promote outdoor recreation. Records show Envision Ogden transferred the money to an anonymous group, Friends of Northern Utah Real Estate, which split it between Blain Johnson, who has left the council, and failed candidate Royal Eccles.

Investigators said Friends of Northern Utah Real Estate "clearly violated" a city disclosure law that prohibits one person or organization from making another's campaign donation. "It seems probable" Envision Ogden also violated the law, the report concluded.

Reed said the two-year statue of limitations on the city's misdemeanor law has expired, ruling out any prosecution that the city earlier declined to pursue. The players could be liable for a state fraud violation, which has a four-year statue of limitations, he said.

Reed has made no decision and said he wasn't certain how much money Envision Ogden raised at the banquet or how much of the total it gave to political candidates.

Envision Ogden belatedly registered as a political action committee during the course of the state police investigation, and Reed said that plays into his review of the case.