This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Lehi man has been ordered to pay $4.7 million for his role in misleading investors who poured money into what federal investigators said was a Ponzi scheme.
U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball directed Brian J. Smart of Smart Assets LLC to repay $2.05 million in investor funds, nearly $600,000 in interest and to pay a fine of $2.05 million.
The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Smart and his company in March 2009, alleging he made numerous misrepresentations to investors, including the elderly.
Smart claimed he was providing conservative, liquid investments, but instead he was using investor funds for personal expenditures and investing in bad real estate ventures, the SEC said. He also used proceeds from new investors for payments to earlier investors to make Smart Assets appear to be a profitable venture, the agency said.
Kimball found that Smart and his company took more than $2.05 million from investors through a "systematic program of deception and fraud."
The decision also prohibits Smart from further violations of federal securities laws.
Attorneys for Smart and Smart Assets did not return emails seeking comment on the decision.