Utah County judge concerned over California fraud restitution

PROVO — Glimpses of glitzy California real-estate projects and allusions to mansions with million-dollar returns should not be the only thing a man owing $20.2 million of restitution should be showing the court, a prosecutor said.

It's been four months since Michael J. Fitzgerald, 51, of Alpine was sentenced to five days in jail and tied to the hefty restitution amount after pleading no contest to five felonies, including securities fraud, employing an unregistered securities agent and pattern of unlawful activity.

Prosecutors said he scammed dozens of investors, many of them elderly, out of millions of dollars for a Beverly Hills project that has yet to get off the ground.

Rather than prison time, the victims begged for leniency at his sentencing, saying the only way they would see their money again was if Fitzgerald was allowed to make good on Clearview, the California project he insisted would bring in millions.

But Monday afternoon in 4th District Court, Judge Samuel McVey said he was concerned that only $8,250 has been paid — with all but $250 of that coming last Thursday.

"The court's intention was never to give him every (opportunity) to pay this back; it was merely conceding to the victims' wishes in this case," McVey said. "If it were not for the victims, he'd be going to the state prison on consecutive terms. Quite frankly, I have a healthy skepticism that this (project) is going to work."

Prosecutor Chad Grunander said he was worried about the "tenuous" project as well.

"Most of our probationers are required to get a job, a regular job ... so payments can be made," Grunander said. "He was placed on probation for 180 months; just to put this in context, in order to keep up to date, he'd have to make monthly payments of $112,302."

"(He should be) required to stretch," Grunander said. "This should be difficult for him. It shouldn't just be status quo, life as normal."

However, defense attorney Mark Griffin asserted that his client is doing all he can to make things right with the victims, adding that paying $2,000-a-month restitution is difficult, and $112,302 monthly impossible.

"He spends most of his time dealing with the restitution in this case, trying to develop this property in California," Griffin said.

McVey set a review hearing on April 6.

Fitzgerald had previously owned the land, but when it went into foreclosure, it was purchased by a group of investors for development. They said they need Fitzgerald's talent with retaining-wall design to make it marketable.

E-MAIL: sisraelsen@desnews.com