Sale Leaseback Peddler Aquitted Of Charges Accusing Him Of Tricking Couple Facing Foreclosure Into Signing Over Deed To Home

In Farmington, Utah, the Standard Examiner reports:

• A judge rendered a not guilty verdict on two felony counts against a Morgan man accused of swindling a former West Point couple out of their home. Judge David M. Connors issued the not guilty verdicts Thursday in 2nd District Court following almost two days of testimony in a bench trial for Jeffery Q. Wangsgard, 57.

• The state Attorney General’s Office had charged Wangsgard in January of 2008 with two second-degree felonies: one count of communication fraud and one count of exploitation of a vulnerable adult.

• The charges accused Wangsgard of tricking Emery and June Mitton, when they were facing foreclosure in 2006, into signing documents that transferred their property deed over to the company where Wangsgard worked.

• Assistant Attorney General Charlene Barlow said she plans to go forward with remaining counts against Wangsgard. Those counts involve two other families who said they were tricked out of their homes by Wangsgard. Connors set Feb. 2 and Feb. 3 for one case and Feb. 9 and 10 for another case. Wangsgard is charged with second-degree felony communication fraud in both cases.

For more, see Not guilty verdict in swindling case.

Utah AG Prosecution Of Foreclosure Rescue Operator Accused In Dubious Equity Stripping, Sale Leaseback Deals Hits Another Delay

In Farmington, Utah, the Standard Examiner reports:

• One of the oldest foreclosure-rescue fraud cases in the state against a Morgan businessman has hit another road block. The Attorney General’s Office charged Jeffery Q. Wangsgard, 57, with three counts of communications fraud and two counts of exploitation. The charges were filed in February of 2008 and stem from dealings Wangsgard’s Layton company, Residential Resolve, had with three Top of Utah families who wanted to save their homes from foreclosure. Wangsgard was ruled indigent and Dee Smith was appointed as his defense attorney. However, Smith recently was appointed as a Deputy Weber County Attorney. The case is now under defense attorney Rich Gallegos. [...] Gallegos said the earliest he could proceed with a trial will be in six months.

For more, see Fraud case hits another roadblock.

See also, How A Utah Couple Was Kicked Out Of Their Home By Mortgage "Helper."

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