Victims of an alleged Ponzi schemer connected to Bank of Utah now say the bank’s vice president and senior trust officer is liable for fraud after not reporting suspicious activity when she saw it, according to Salt Lake City news affiliate KUTV.
A new claim filed late last month in connection with an ongoing lawsuit against the bank and seen by KUTV accuses Jodie Buckner, a bank veteran of 25 years, of admitting to knowingly disregarding fraudulent activity. Buckner made her admission on a secret recording in which she also gave out protected information, the claim alleged.
The recording occurred after her employer counter-sued former clients of Steve Swensen, a financial adviser and accused Ponzi schemer who died in 2022, saying the bank would not be liable for financial loss accrued during a signed agreement with Swensen.
Swensen allegedly stole $30 million from clients, mostly elderly people, who he’d convinced to open a self-directed IRA fund with the Bank of Utah and sign over total control to him. Swensen allegedly told clients that their investments guaranteed a minimum 5% return annually and up to 10%, depending on S&P 500 performance.
In reality, he wired client funds to his solely owned investment fund Crew Capital Group, in which he “misappropriated essentially all investor funds to make Ponzi payments to other investors and to pay for [his] personal expenses, such as real estate, vehicles and multiple private aircraft, and [his] living expenses,” according to the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2022.
Cortney Hall, whose parents were among Swensen’s former clients, told KUTV that her parents were shocked when they discovered their retirement savings had disappeared under Swensen’s watch. Her father has since passed away, and her mother has had to return to work, Hall said.
“My mom has been through so much, and I honestly get choked up thinking about how much strength she’s had to go through this,” Hall told KUTV.
Buckner, according to the newest claim, opted to continue working with Swensen despite her suspicions about him. The lawsuit also claims that she gave protected financial information about one of Swensen’s client to Jacob Cazier, an associate of Swensen.
The Bank of Utah did not return a request for comment to Banking Dive or KUTV. In September, the bank “denied having any liability or association with the fraud scheme,” KUTV reported.
A judge froze Swensen’s assets last year a few months after the SEC initiated its lawsuit against his estate. According to KUTV, both Swensen’s wife and mistress have asked to receive a piece of his estate, but have also agreed to pay assets proven to be stolen. Assets will be divided after the investigation is over, according to the SEC lawsuit.
“I don’t think that we are very confident that any of it’s going to be resolved,” Hall told KUTV, in regard to finding justice for her parents and other victims. “We’re trying to get what’s in our control, because this whole thing is out of control.”
