December 23, 2024
December 23, 2024 — Salt Lake City, UT – The Utah Department of Commerce’s Division of Securities (Division) is pleased to announce that an additional $5.9 million has been distributed to victims of the Rust Rare Coins Ponzi scheme, as directed by the court-appointed receiver, Jonathan O. Hafen. This latest distribution brings the total restitution to nearly $30 million for those affected by this fraudulent scheme.
Gaylen Rust is currently serving a 19-year federal prison sentence for orchestrating this elaborate Ponzi scheme through his well-known Salt Lake City coin shop. Promising significant gains by utilizing his knowledge of the silver market, Rust misappropriated investor funds for personal use and to pay earlier investors rather than investing in silver as promised.
“We are pleased to announce another distribution of funds to the victims of this significant fraud. Scams like this undermine trust in legitimate investment opportunities in Utah and severely impact the financial stability of their victims. We will continue to vigorously pursue the perpetrators of these scams and hold them accountable,” said Margaret Busse, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Commerce.
“We are grateful that another significant distribution has been made to victims, especially during this holiday season,” said Jason Sterzer, Director of the Utah Division of Securities. “This outcome is a testament to the relentless efforts of the agencies involved, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the Utah Attorney General’s Office, and the teams at Parr Brown Gee & Loveless and Berkeley Research Group for their commitment to returning funds back to victims of this scheme.”
“The AG’s Office is inspired to see this money returned to its proper owners,” said Douglas Crapo, Director of the Attorney General’s Office’s Division of White Collar & Commercial Enforcement. “Since 2018, when our Assistant Attorneys General Jennifer Korb, Robert Wing, Tom Melton, Paula Faerber, and our teammates at the Division of Securities and the CFTC sprinted to court with an emergency motion to stop this pernicious Ponzi scheme, we have all continued our watch to protect the public. It’s glorious that it now results in returns to the innocent—especially at this time of year.”
Hafen, the receiver, stated, “It is truly gratifying to assist the victims of this terrible scam with another substantial distribution. Our team remains focused on recovering additional funds for investors in the upcoming months.”
The Utah Division of Securities encourages all investors to conduct thorough due diligence before making investment decisions. Remember, if an opportunity seems too good to be true, it probably is.
For more information about the Utah Division of Securities and its ongoing efforts to protect investors or to file a complaint, please visit www.utah.securities.gov.