The trial for a Utah man accused in one of the largest investment swindles in state history has been postponed after the prosecution expressed concern about one of its own expert witnesses.
District Judge Robert Faust agreed to the prosecution’s request to push back the Jan. 24 trial of former VesCor manager Shawn Moore during a court proceeding Tuesday in Salt Lake City. The trial is now slated for June 5-8, with jury selection on June 4.
Moore, 45, faces multiple counts of security fraud and other charges for his alleged role in VesCor’s decades-long Ponzi scheme that bilked real estate investors out of at least $180 million.
Assistant Utah Attorney General Che Arguello said one reason he asked to reschedule the trial is because a key prosecution witness, Michael Hines, was terminated from his job at the Utah Division of Securities. Arguello said it is still unclear why Hines was fired, and since Hines is the prosecution’s expert on securities fraud, the reason for his termination could present “credibility issues” for both sides in the case. Defense attorney Kenneth Brown acknowledged that Hines’ termination could be relevant.
Both Hines and the Utah Division of Securities declined to publicly discuss the firing, according to reports by the Salt Lake Tribune shortly after the incident.
Arguello said the prosecution is working on getting a new expert. He also told the judge that another of his witnesses was scheduled to be out of the state for his job during the original trial date.
The case against Moore dates back to 2008 and has seen multiple delays due to legal wrangling. Judge Faust was reluctant to let the trial drag on further, citing the defendant’s right to a speedy trial and the lack of time on the court’s packed schedule. Eventually the judge and lawyers agreed on a narrow, four-day window in June.
Moore, who is free on bail, did not attend the scheduling conference.
In 2008, VesCor owner Val Southwick pleaded guilty to charges that he used his Ogden-based real estate venture to run a Ponzi scheme, where money from new investors is simply funneled back to previous investors to make it seem like the company is doing well. Southwick was sentenced to nine consecutive 1-to-15 year prison terms for the scam, which reportedly swindled more than 800 people over the course of 17 years.
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