A federal jury in Salt Lake City found multiple business owners guilty for their participation in a nationwide scheme to defraud victims out of more than $30 million.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A federal jury in Salt Lake City found multiple business owners guilty for their participation in a nationwide scheme to defraud victims out of more than $30 million.
After a five-week trial, three individuals were found guilty of a scheme that induced victims to invest in Noah’s Event Centers, promising “impressive long-term financial returns,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Utah, states.
Christopher J. Ashby, 52, of Salt Lake County; Jordan S. Nelson, 45, of Salt Lake County; and Scott W. Beynon, 49, of Davis County, were each found guilty of 17 counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Victims of the scheme were defrauded out of more than $30 million after being persuaded by the defendants, including three others who pleaded guilty earlier this year, to invest in Noah’s Event Centers as part of 1031 exchanges. Despite their promises that the investments were safe, assuring them that Noah’s was a reliable corporate partner, the event centers were actually an unprofitable enterprise sustained only through infusions of new investor funds.
According to the DOJ, five promised buildings were never built and investor funds were diverted elsewhere. Trial evidence showed that these individuals misrepresented important information about the financial health of the event centers and falsely promised to safeguard victims’ money during construction.
“Marketing materials displayed at trial depicted luxurious Noah’s event spaces and boasted of Noah’s ‘demonstrated . . . ability to examine and modify their business to achieve maximum profitability,’” the release states.
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Meanwhile, the defendants were reportedly aware that Noah’s was not profitable and facing “dire financial straits,” according to the DOJ.
“Investors were left with empty, undeveloped lots rather than the promised venues, while the defendants received millions of dollars for their role in the scheme,” the release states.
During trial, prosecutors presented satellite images of the undeveloped event centers, including unbuilt sites in Dublin, Ohio, Independence, Ohio, Toledo, Ohio, Jacksonville, Florida, and Carmel, Indiana.
The defendants will be sentenced before a U.S. District Court Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City in the coming months. This case is being investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).
The three other codefendants who pleaded guilty this year are identified as:
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William J. Bowser, 63, of St. George, Utah, who is the founder of the company and pleaded guilty in the middle of trial on April 16, 2026, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
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John D. Hamrick, 67, of Franconia, New Hampshire, who pleaded guilty on January 21, 2026, to three counts of wire fraud
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Scott L. Rutherford, 54, of Utah County, Utah, who pleaded guilty on June 9, 2025, to wire fraud.
No further information is available at this time.
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Source: Utah News