Utah Man Facing Trial for Ponzi Scheme Indicted For Additional Ponzi Scheme

Authorities have charged a Utah man with running a Ponzi Scheme even while awaiting trial on charges of running a previous scam.  Wayne Ogden, 47, was charged on Tuesday with six counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud in connection with the newly-uncovered scheme that prosecutors say has taken in $29 million of investor funds.  Ogden had previously been indicted in December 2007 on 15 counts of wire and mail fraud pertaining to a smaller scheme.

The newest Ponzi Scheme Ogden is alleged to have orchestrated operated under the name of Paradigm Acceptance LLC, which promised assistance to underwater homeowners by refinancing and restructuring mortgages.  Investors were charged a $1,500 fee in addition to a percentage of amounts purportedly saved as a result of Paradigm's assistance.  Returns of twenty percent on investor funds were promised to investors in as little as two months.  Instead, funds were used to pay large salaries to Ogden and his brother, Terry, and to older investors disguised as interest payments.

Wayne Ogden was previously indicted for a $1.74 million Ponzi Scheme as part of a real estate project in Kiowa, Colorado, where investors were promised returns as high as 100%.  Ogden was convicted of yet another similar scheme during the mid-1990's when five hundred investors lost approximately $7 million.  He was sentenced to two consecutive terms of up to fifteen years, but was paroled after serving 28 months.