Auction of seized cars and boats is delayed

SALT LAKE CITY — An auction of about 210 cars, motorcycles and boats worth $6 million that was slated for Thursday has been postponed, due to objections from the man to whom the machines once belonged.

Jeffrey Lane Mowen, 47, of Lindon, has been accused of running a fraudulent, Ponzi-style investment scheme from 2006 to 2008. It involved two primary investors who were told Mowen was a successful trader in foreign currency and involved in an international real estate leveraging program. Authorities say investors lost about $18 million.

Mowen allegedly used the various vehicles to perpetuate the fraud. The collection — which includes a 1925 Ford Model T Speedster, a 1956 Austin Healey convertible, a 1970 Pontiac GTO, a 1971 De Tomaso Pantera GTS coupe, a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 sports coupe, a 1989 Bentley Turbo R sedan and even a 1969 Dodge Charger with the "General Lee" paint scheme — was seized by the FBI following Mowen's indictment.

He was initially indicted on a wire fraud charge in April, but he was named in a six-count superseding indictment in November that added charges of solicitation to commit a crime of violence, witness tampering and retaliating against a witness.

Mowen was arrested and jailed in May 2009. Prosecutors say he then spent two months trying to persuade his cellmate, who was scheduled to be released last month, to kill two major investors and two others. Prosecutors believe Mowen was hoping to keep them from testifying against him.

Although Mowen has not been convicted of a crime, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson granted a prosecution request to auction off the seized vehicles.

The first of two auctions was set for Thursday, but it has been postponed as Mowen has filed objections "concerning the timing of the sale and the need for more time to review, and potentially challenge, appraisals on the vehicles," said U.S. Attorney for Utah spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch.

One of the primary motivations for completing the auction and sale was financial. The U.S. Marshals Service has had the collection in storage since the November seizure at a cost of $21,000 a month.

Mowen was arraigned before a federal magistrate judge in December. If convicted, Mowen would face a maximum sentence of more than 90 years in prison and fines of more than $1 million.

e-mail: emorgan@desnews.com