Parr Brown Gee & Loveless (“Parr Brown”) today announced that shareholder Jonathan O. Hafen, the Court-appointed Receiver in the Rust Rare Coin Ponzi scheme, has made an additional $5.9 million distribution to victims, bringing total distributions to date to nearly $30 million.
Gaylen Rust is currently serving a 19-year sentence in federal prison for using a well-known Salt Lake City coin shop as a front to perpetrate a massive Ponzi scheme. Rust promised prospective investors that he would generate significant gains for them by using his intimate knowledge of the silver market to buy and sell silver.
This was a lie. No meaningful investor funds were ever used in that fashion. Instead, Rust diverted nearly all investor funds to himself, to his unsuccessful start-up businesses, and to make payments to earlier investors to perpetuate the scam.
“We are pleased to announce another distribution of funds to the victims of this significant fraud. Scams like this undermine trust in legitimate investment opportunities in Utah and severely impact the financial stability of their victims. We will continue to vigorously pursue the perpetrators of these scams and hold them accountable,” said Margaret Busse, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Commerce.
“We are grateful that another significant distribution has been made to victims, especially during this holiday season,” said Jason Sterzer, Director of the Utah Division of Securities. “This outcome is a testament to the relentless efforts of the agencies involved, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the Utah Attorney General’s Office, and the teams at Parr Brown Gee & Loveless and Berkeley Research Group for their commitment to returning funds back to victims of this scheme.”
Regarding the latest distribution, Hafen said that “it is truly gratifying to once again make a significant distribution to the victims of this horrible scam. Our team is continuing to work vigilantly to return additional funds to investors in the months ahead. This scam would never have come to light and nearly $30 million returned to investors without the collective efforts of those from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Utah Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, the Utah Division of Securities and the hard-working team of lawyers and accountants at Parr Brown Gee & Loveless and Berkeley Research Group.”
Mr. Hafen looks forward to making at least one more significant distribution to victims in the coming months as pending litigation and remaining disputed claims are resolved.
About Parr Brown Gee & Loveless
Parr Brown Gee & Loveless is a commercial law firm based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Founded in 1975, Parr Brown attorneys assist corporate clients and individuals with a wide range of transactional, litigation, and regulatory matters on a local, regional, national, and international basis. For more information, visit www.parrbrown.com.
About The Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is a federal agency that oversees the U.S. derivatives markets. Its mission is to promote the integrity, resilience, and vibrancy of the U.S. derivatives markets through sound regulation. The CFTC represents the global standard for sound derivatives regulation. For more information, visit www.CFTC.gov.
About The Utah Department of Commerce
The Utah Department of Commerce is the licensing and registration agency for Utah’s professional and business community. It provides oversight of business registrations, trademarks, Uniform Commercial Code filings, occupational and professional licensing, consumer protection, public utilities, securities, real estate, and residential mortgage lending. The Department of Commerce responds to consumer complaints within our areas of jurisdiction. For more information, visit www.commerce.utah.gov.
About the Utah Division of Securities
The Utah Division of Securities (a Division of the Utah Department of Commerce) is the state agency responsible for regulating the securities (investment) industry in the state and enforcing Utah’s securities laws. The Division seeks to create a level playing field in the investment industry and ensure minimum standards of competence, training, and fair-dealing by issuing licenses to broker-dealers and investment advisers and all of their agents and representatives that do business in the state. In addition to regulating the securities industry, the Division’s mission includes a mandate to help educate and protect Utah’s investors For more information, visit www.utah.securities.gov.
About Berkeley Research Group
Berkeley Research Group, LLC (BRG) is a global consulting firm that helps leading organizations advance in three key areas: disputes and investigations, corporate finance, and performance improvement and advisory. Headquartered in California with offices around the world, BRG is an integrated group of experts, industry leaders, academics, data scientists, and professionals working across borders and disciplines. For more information, visit www.thinkbrg.com.
