Investment scam left one man homeless, but another got a huge diamond, feds in Utah say
A Utah man is going to prison after he was convicted of defrauding multiple investors out of millions of dollars and spending the money on properties and a diamond, prosecutors said.
The nearly $5.5 million scheme spanning from 2011 to 2016 cost two people their homes, according to sentencing documents.
Ryan R. West was sentenced to five years in prison and three years of supervised release on Wednesday, Dec. 8, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah. He pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud in August.
An attorney for West did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
In the scheme, West convinced a woman to invest $95,000 in cash and $100,000 in equity from her California condominium in a Texas gravel quarry in 2014, court documents show.
But he didn’t use the money for the gravel quarry.
Instead, he spent the money toward payments on a 4-carat diamond, according to court documents. Rings of that size could cost $30,000 to $250,000 depending on the cut, clarity and color of the gemstone.
He also paid co-defendant Gary Gygi $40,000 of the money and spent the rest on other unrelated business expenses, including property payments for himself, documents show. Gygi pleaded guilty in August and will be sentenced on Dec. 16, according to the news release.
The loan defaulted months later, and the woman lost her cash investment and her condo, prosecutors said in the sentencing documents.
West also caused a “cognitively impaired” man whom he had met at church to lose his home in 2014, documents and the news release show.
He advised the man to transfer his home to a corporation West owned to protect it from a tax lien. Then he borrowed all of the equity of the home and told the lender it was for a gravel quarry, according to court documents.
He used the cash from the loans to pay his mortgage and other personal expenses, prosecutors said, and the man was left homeless after his home was foreclosed.
But now West will have to pay the money back and return the diamond.
He was ordered to pay $5,420,206.98 in restitution to his victims. He will also have to forfeit $5,261,755.73 in proceeds, the news release says.
“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to prosecuting fraudsters who prey on vulnerable members of our community,” acting U.S. Attorney Andrea T. Martinez said in the release. “Our thoughts are with the victims of this case, some of whom were elderly, vulnerable and met West through church, business and family connections.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Investment scam left one man homeless, but another got a huge diamond, feds in Utah say."
