Woman can seek more money from sect

A woman who claimed she was bilked by leaders and members of a polygamist church will be allowed to seek more money in damages, the Utah Supreme Court has ruled.

In a decision handed down Friday, the high court ruled that Virginia Hill is entitled to more than just the $1.54 million she lost when she invested it with members of the Bluffdale-based Apostolic United Brethren in 1989.

"It's obviously a disappointing verdict," said AUB attorney Drew Briney. "We've got to look at our options."

Hill, a one-time South American movie actress and ex-wife of a bookie, moved to southern Utah and sought help from polygamist preacher John Shugart to purchase a ranch near St. George. A friend of Shugart, Dennis Matthews, agreed to help negotiate the purchase and suggested she hire John Putvin to help.

Hill was ready to pay for the ranch in cash, but the owner didn't want that so Shugart, Putvin and Matthews invested her money to generate cash flow to make payments, the Supreme Court ruling said. Hill agreed.

"Once Mr. Matthews and Mr. Putvin received Ms. Hill's money, they became concerned about how the purchase of the ranch would affect their relationship with the Corporation of the Presiding Elder of the Apostolic United Brethren, a religious group with which they were affiliated," Supreme Court Justice Ronald Nehring wrote. "Mr. Shugart had previously attempted to purchase the ranch with the help of the AUB, but the ranch had been foreclosed upon. The AUB lost a significant amount of money as a result, and it blamed Mr. Shugart for its loss. Additionally, then-leader of the AUB, Owen Allred, considered Mr. Shugart to be a threat to his ecclesiastical leadership."

Loyal to Allred, Matthews and Putvin met with the AUB leader and claimed that Hill gave them the money to "atone for … past sins." They revealed that Shugart wanted to give Matthews control over the ranch under the title of "bishop," the ruling said. In what was apparently a deal, Allred got Matthews to side with him by ordaining him "bishop" to pre-empt Shugart, the court said.

Hill handed over a total of $1.54 million to Matthews and Putvin, but she never got the ranch nor did she get her money back. Instead, the court said, the money was divided out among other members, including current AUB leader J. LaMoine Jenson. Her money was used to purchase other businesses and investments, but they were all deeded to the AUB.