Additional charges may be filed against Utah County businessman

A federal magistrate overseeing the case of an Utah County businessman accused of running a $100 million Ponzi scheme said Friday that he thinks the case is "languishing" and is eager to move it forward.

Even as federal prosecutors said in court Friday that they plan to present Claud "Rick" Koerber, 36, of Alpine with a "superseding indictment" that will stack additional counts onto an initial three-count indictment filed in May, the primary concern of federal magistrate Samuel Alba was that of time.

"This is languishing as a case," Alba said. "I want to make sure it gets to trial in a reasonable time."

Koerber was charged with mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion in connection with an investment scheme that began in 2004 and continued through 2008. Prosecutors believe he solicited investors and then encouraged them to "act and think like a bank." The groups of investors were supposed to recruit other investors, all under Koerber's assurance that their investments were "backed, collateralized or secured by real property," the indictment states.

Instead, prosecutors say, the investors' money went to Koerber's dining expenses totaling $800,000, new vehicles totaling $1 million, and his movie-making ventures costing $5 million. Koerber still vehemently denies the charges and pleaded not guilty in June.

On Friday, Koerber dismissed his court-appointed attorney, Jerome Mooney, and retained his own counsel, Marcus Mumford. The judge gave prosecutors and Koerber's defense one week to create a plan for transferring documents and then 90 days to decide what kinds of motions they plan to file.

Mumford said after the hearing that he hasn't received any documents regarding Koerber beyond those given to them by Koerber in June. "The government has represented to the media that they have 'mountains of evidence,' but, frankly, we haven't seen that from them," Mumford said.

Assistant U.S. attorney Stewart Walz said the U.S. Attorney's Office plans to file an updated indictment "within the month" that will include additional counts against Koerber.

e-mail: emorgan@desnews.com