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Sean D. Reyes
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Reyes Offers Support to Sheriffs

Sept. 26 2014 — Attorney General Sean Reyes met with statewide sheriffs this week at the annual Utah Sheriffs’ Association Conference in St. George. In his first annual address as attorney general, AG Reyes pledged his full support for each county’s law enforcement efforts by stating, “I want to strongly restate something I said to the police chiefs. Over the years this office has taken on a name that I do not claim. Let me be clear, I am not The Top Cop.” Although General Reyes holds the highest elected law enforcement office in the state, he continued by saying, “Each of you, as sheriff of your county, have the honor and responsibility to meet the demands of your particular citizenship.  You and the chiefs in attendance today are the Top Cops. The Utah Attorney General has many mandates and, among those, it my privilege to assist you in your daily obligations.”

General Reyes continued by saying, “Our office is here to serve you. If we can be an objective set of eyes, or as a resource enhancer, then we are doing our jobs. If we can respond when you request our help, then we are fulfilling our obligations to you and to the citizens of Utah. If we can bring prosecutorial or investigative enhancement to any of your cases, then we are accomplishing our goals. You have my commitment as the Utah Attorney General to serve you and your constituents to make our communities safe.”

Rodger Graham Sentenced

DECADE LONG FRAUD CASES CLOSES WITH RODGER GRAHAM SENTENCED TO ONE YEAR IN JAIL AND $1.4 MILLION IN RESTITUTION

 

Sept. 25, 2014 — Ten years after Rodger Graham fraudulently convinced investors that he had salvage rights to building materials from the old Geneva Steel site, he has been sentenced by Judge Lynn Davis in Utah’s Fourth District Court. Graham is currently serving 365-days in the Utah County Jail and has been ordered to pay $1,417,500 million in restitution to three victims. Investigators and prosecutors in the Utah Attorney General’s Office are pleased to close the securities fraud and communications fraud case with successful results for those who have been harmed.

In 2004, Mr. Graham made representations that salvaged material from Geneva was worth approximately $5.5 million dollars and that there was a robust market for its use in new buildings. Two victims invested, with one paying him approximately $1 million dollars for the materials with a promise that when it was sold, the victim would be repaid with interest. No money was ever repaid.  Another victim hired Graham as a general contractor to build a Harley Davidson dealership using the salvaged material. Graham did very little work on the building but received hundreds of thousands of dollars in excess of the work done and then walked off the project.  Graham pled guilty to one count of securities fraud, one count of communications fraud and one count of a pattern of illegal activity. He was sentenced to 365 days in the Utah County jail and was ordered to pay almost $1.42 million in restitution.

“We appreciate the hundreds of hours of investigative work by our special agents and the additional hundreds of hours of prosecutorial expertise led by Assistant Attorney General Craig Barlow in this case,” said Attorney General Sean D. Reyes. “I am deeply committed as Utah’s Attorney General to combat white collar crime and have made internal changes to our office structure to do so. Our great state is plagued by fraud, especially affinity crimes by those who play on trusted relationships. Because of this, one of the main focuses of our new Markets and Financial Fraud Division is to wipe out this destructive pattern of unlawful activity in Utah. I appreciate those within our office who have consistently and diligently investigated and prosecuted these criminals.”

Utah Joins Amicus Brief to Defend 1st Amendment Rights

ATTORNEY GENERAL SEAN REYES JOINS AMICUS BRIEF TO DEFEND CITIZENS’ FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS

 

Sept. 23, 2014 — Attorney General Sean D. Reyes today announced that Utah  joined West Virginia and eight other states in an amicus, or friend of the court, brief in the United States Supreme Court to support an Arizona church’s fight against a local sign ordinance that the non-profit organization says stifles its freedoms under the First Amendment.

The brief asks the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that upheld a sign ordinance passed by the Town of Gilbert, Ariz., which places size limitations on signs put up by non-profit entities, but does not impose similar restrictions on other signs, including political signs. A local church, Good News Community Church, and its pastor, Clyde Reed, filed the lawsuit against the ordinance.

“If the Ninth Circuit’s ruling is upheld, it would give governments, including the federal government, the authority to systematically favor speech about certain subjects over speech about other subjects,” Attorney General Reyes said.

The Town of Gilbert’s ordinance restricts signs promoting the events, meetings, or activities of non-profit groups, including local churches, while it broadly permits any political or ideological signs.  For example, political signs can be up to 32 square feet, displayed for many months, and unlimited in number.  An ideological sign can likewise be up to 20 square feet, displayed indefinitely, and unlimited in number.  A church’s or other non-profit organization’s signs however can only be 6 square feet, may be displayed for no more than 14 hours, and are limited to four per property.

“We believe this case raises important doctrinal questions about the proper standards and level of scrutiny for laws that discriminate on the basis of the content of speech,” said West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who was the lead author of the amicus brief. “How the Court resolves these issues will have wide-ranging ramifications for free speech in many contexts beyond sign ordinances.”

The brief was signed by attorneys general from the states of West Virginia, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.

To read a copy of the amicus brief, go to https://bit.ly/1poMAH0.

Utah AG Hosts National Conference of Medicaid Fraud Control Units

UTAH ATTORNEY GENERAL HOSTS NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF MEDICAID FRAUD CONTROL UNITS

Sept. 15, 2014 — The Utah Attorney General’s Office is hosting the National Training Conference of the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (NAMFCU) this week, Sept. 15-18, 2014, at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. The conference will feature training and discussions with state and federal regulators and specialists in the area of Medicaid Fraud and Patient Abuse and Neglect.  Attorney General Sean Reyes welcomed NAMFCU members from all 50 states to Utah this morning with a welcome message and ongoing challenge to work together in overcoming Medicaid fraud throughout the United States.

“One of the vital safety nets for Utah citizens and all Americans is the the Medicaid System. Our office is pleased to host this important national training with best practices to curtail the multi-million dollar annual loss to fraudulent practices in Utah and the U.S.,” stated Attorney General Sean Reyes. “The Utah Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Unit under the direction of Robert Steed is highly regarded as a national leader in overcoming fraudulent practices to ensure that finite resources are retained for qualifying citizens.” Reyes added.

Medicaid Fraud Control Units are found in each state and serve as the law enforcement arm of the Medicaid System. States must employ a fraud unit to qualify for federal support of the Medicaid program unless the state certifies that a fraud unit is not necessary in their individual state.

According to Director Robert Steed of the Utah Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, over 250 people will attend the conference from across the country to learn more about fraud prevention and how to safeguard our most vulnerable citizens. “We have a very specific and important mission,” said Steed. “Every dollar lost to fraud and every patient abused, neglected or exploited is a serious matter and we exist to combat it.”

The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit as part of the Utah Attorney General’s Office has established an excellent track record of protecting vulnerable victims as well as recovering millions of dollars to the State Medicaid program.

RS 2477 Roads: Tenth Circuit Ruling Increases Need for Witnesses

Sept. 8, 2014 — The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals today issued a decision refusing to rehear certain discrete legal issues raised by the State of Utah and San Juan County regarding the Salt Creek Road in San Juan County.  Although the original panel decision contained favorable rulings on the statute of limitations, the State and County had asked to be reheard on two issues relating to what constitutes public use of an R.S. 2477 road and who counts as a member of the public.  The Court of Appeals left intact the lower court decision that discounting the evidentiary value of witnesses who used the Salt Creek Road prior to the 1950s for cattle ranching pursuant to federal grazing permit.

“While we are disappointed with the decision to leave this issue of who is a permissive user to the discretion of trial courts, rather than clarifying one rule applicable to all, the State will continue to use both the testimony of ranchers and other public user witnesses in future cases,” said Utah Attorney General Public Lands Section Director Tony Rampton. “This ruling increases the important for members of the public who used the roads prior to 1976 for hunting, camping, site-seeing and other general public uses come forward with their testimony to assist in the presentation of the evidence in cases involving R.S. 2477 roads.”

The original panel also held that the question of what constitutes continuous use is left to the discretion of the trial court. Mr. Rampton continued, “We are disappointed that the court did not take the opportunity to define the level of use necessary and adopt the current standard for continuous use as defined by the Utah Supreme Court. We will continue to pursue these road claims seeking and using as much evidence of public use as is available, as we have done since inception.”

Members of the public who used the roads prior to 1976 are urged to offer testimony by contacting local county officials or by emailing publiclands@utah.gov.