| St. George millionaire accused of Internet fraud to remain behind bars | |
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By Dennis Romboy Deseret News | |
SALT LAKE CITY — A pilot's license and apparent access to large sums of money will keep a St. George multimillionaire accused of fraud behind bars for now. U.S. District Magistrate Judge David Nuffer ruled Monday that he doesn't have "adequate tools" to keep Jeremy D. Johnson from fleeing prosecution. Johnson, 35, faces one count of mail fraud in connection with an alleged Internet scheme in which federal authorities contend consumers lost hundreds of millions of dollars. Johnson, who entered the courtroom wearing a smile and a striped Davis County Jail jumpsuit, dejectedly put his chin in his hand after Nuffer announced the decision. About 30 family and friends in the gallery gasped and some shed tears. They declined to comment after the hearing. Nuffer said he would consider releasing Johnson if a property bond of at least $1 million were posted. "It means that we're not totally foreclosed from getting Jeremy out," said defense attorney Nathan Crane. Family and friends, he said, are trying to "scrape together" unencumbered land for the bond. "Nobody likes jail. He wants to get back with his wife and two kids," Crane said. Johnson, 35, has been in jail since being arrested at the Phoenix airport en route to Costa Rica on June 11. One of his carry-on bags contained $26,400 cash in a shoebox. Crane told the judge Johnson was not fleeing the country but traveling with his family and two friends to set up a helicopter tour service company. He said Johnson, a helicopter pilot, had gone back and forth to the Central American country several times in the past few months. IRS agent Jamie Hipwell testified that Johnson's brother-in-law Andrew Ginnochio told him the Johnsons planned to live in Costa Rica for "several years." In addition to the criminal charge, Johnson faces a Federal Trade Commission complaint filed last December alleging his online companies bilked more than $275 million from at least 1 million consumers. A federal judge in Nevada froze all of his assets and placed him under tight financial restrictions. But prosecutor Brent Ward argued that Johnson is living off hidden assets such as buried gold and has not been forthcoming about his access to cash. "He's a liar," Ward said. Ward also called Johnson a "master of the dark science of Internet marketing fraud" who could easily set up an online business similar to his previous one from anywhere in the world. Crane said Ward was "grasping at straws" and relied on "multiple, multiple levels of hearsay" to make accusations against Johnson. "There is no hidden gold. There are no hidden bank accounts," he said. "He's been living off the goodwill of friends, family and neighbors." Nuffer said Johnson has not accounted for large amounts of money and has made unreliable statements to the Nevada court. E-mail: romboy@desnews.com Twitter: dennisromboy | |
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DeseretNews.com Originally published Monday, July 11, 2011 | |
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