WASHINGTON D.C. Sept. 6, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A sentencing date is pending for two Utahns convicted at trial with two other men for an investment fraud and money laundering scam that bilked victims of more than $18 million.
Kevin Griffith, 67, of Orem, Utah; and Alexander Ituma, 57, of Lehi, Utah, were convicted with two others by a federal jury in the Western District of Arkansas, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, which described the scam as global.
The four defendants played “lead roles in an investment fraud and money laundering conspiracy that cheated victims out of more than $18 million,” the DOJ said in the weekend press release on the 8-year scheme.
“The defendants abused their positions of trust to entice victims,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
“The defendants then used their financial backgrounds to systematically launder the money through a web of international bank accounts.
“This case stands as a stark message to those who defraud others for their personal gain: you will be found, you will be prosecuted, and you will be convicted.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between at least 2013 and 2021, Griffith, Ituma, John C. Nock, 55, of Fayetteville, Arkansas; and Brian Brittsan, 67, of San Marcos, California conspired to engage in an investment fraud scheme through an entity known as “The Brittingham Group,” which Nock founded.
Together, the DOJ said, the four defendants falsely represented the nature of their investment offerings and promised outsize returns to victims that, in reality, the defendants could not and did not produce. To promote and conceal the conspiracy, Nock and Brittsan directed victims to send their money to bank accounts that Griffith, Ituma, and other co-conspirators controlled. Once the money was in the hands of the co-conspirators, the defendants transferred victim money through a complex web of worldwide bank accounts.
“Plain and simple, these four individuals ran a fraudulent scheme. They falsely represented the nature of their business and lied about potential investment returns to bilk unsuspecting victims out of more than $18 million,” said IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Chief Jim Lee.
“I commend the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section who prosecuted the case, and our special agents and partners at the FBI who uncovered the complex web of financial transactions that led to the defendants’ convictions yesterday.”
“The conviction of these defendants sends a strong message to criminals committing financial crimes.” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “A single scam can destroy a company, devastate families by wiping out their life savings, or cost investors millions of dollars.
“The FBI would like to remind investors to be diligent and gather as much information as possible before making any investment.”
The jury convicted each defendant of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The defendants face a maximum of 20 years in prison on each count. The jury also convicted Nock of money laundering for which he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
A sentencing date has not yet been set.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
IRS-CI and the FBI investigated the case. U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas provided invaluable assistance.
o0o
