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A former Utah County commissioner pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of communications fraud for his role in a scam where he and a businessman posed as Mormon officials to dupe companies into investing in an industrial park and rail line.
As part of a plea deal, three other charges were dismissed against Gary Jay Anderson.
Communications fraud is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison but the plea agreement could allow Anderson to avoid incarceration.
The deal calls for Anderson to pay $162,606 in restitution. Prosecutors will recommend no more than six months in jail if Anderson comes up with $15,000 by the time he is sentenced Aug. 25, and no jail time if he produces $25,000 by then.
Prosecutors also are recommending that 3rd District Judge Vernice Trease place the 70-year-old Springville resident on probation for five years. In addition, Anderson, an attorney, would voluntarily surrender his law license as part of the deal.
Prosecutor Jacob Taylor said the victim who is owed the $162,606 is in favor of the deal.
Anderson and businessman Alan Dean McKee, 58, of Benjamin, each were charged in February 2016 with three counts of communications fraud and one count of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, all second-degree felonies.
Charging documents allege Anderson and McKee impersonated authorities from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — even creating a phone account in an apostle's name — as part of a scheme that defrauded a construction company and two individuals out of about $1.26 million. The two defendants solicited the funds for what they claimed was a plan to set up a rail line and industrial park on the church's land in Elberta.
Prosecutors say the scam took place from 2012 to 2015. In his plea, Anderson admitted making phone calls to an investor in May 2015 while posing as another person.
Defense attorney Nathan Crane said Thursday that the scheme was driven by McKee from the beginning. He said Anderson was deceived by McKee and got involved only at the tail end, but also acknowledged his client "crossed a line."
Last August, McKee was charged with committing new crimes while free on $25,000 bail that were similar to the charges he already was facing. He pleaded guilty in the first case to one count of engaging in a pattern of illegal activity and guilty in the second case to theft, both second-degree felonies.
McKee was sentenced in November to two concurrent terms of 1 to 15 years in prison and later ordered to pay nearly $1,269,000 in restitution. Four other charges were dismissed as part of a plea bargain.
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC