Utah Attorney General’s Office Represents the Utah Division of Consumer Protection to Secure $42.5 Million Landmark Victory in Real Estate Investment Fraud Case

SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah Attorney General's Office represented the Utah Division of Consumer Protection in a landmark case against Real Estate Workshop (REW) and its principals Troy Stevens, Cory Wadsworth, and MJ Augie Bove. The REW Defendants deceptively enticed thousands of customers to attend free seminars with promises of generating high passive income through real estate investing techniques. Rather than provide training, they pressured attendees into purchasing increasingly expensive training packages. This often involved encouraging buyers to use credit cards, take out home loans, or deplete their retirement funds to pay for the packages, resulting in significant debt and damage to credit. In addition, the REW Defendants never delivered on the expensive training, leaving many purchasers insolvent or filing for bankruptcy.

"This is another great case result for Utah and the Attorney General's Office thanks to our trial counsel Tom Melton, Robert Wing, and AAG Peishen Zhou. Disrupting fraud and other white-collar crime has been a statewide priority for me and my team since I took office in 2013. It is easy to see the devastating results of violent crime while financial crimes can too often go unnoticed," said Attorney General Sean D. Reyes. "Thanks to the witnesses, expert investigators, and skilled legal team in our attorney general's office, thousands of Utahns who were victimized by this bait-and-switch scheme can now find some justice."

The Honorable Utah Third District Court Judge Kent Holmberg held that the REW Defendants' conduct violated the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act and the Utah Telephone Fraud Prevention Act. Judge Holmberg found that the Defendants' "misconduct was egregious and widespread" noting that "the harm to consumers as individuals was often catastrophic, shattering their economic well-being and forcing some into bankruptcy." He held that "given the magnitude of payments from consumers, a large fine is necessary to deter other potential violators from engaging in similar conduct."

The Judge ordered the Defendants to pay, jointly and severally, $2,828,776.19 in restitution to harmed consumers and $39,656,610 in fines and penalties for statutory violations. Defendants Troy Stevens, Cory Wadsworth, and MJ Augie Bove are also permanently barred from selling any type of business coaching or similar services in the future (read full Order at dcp.utah.gov/rew-findings-of-fact).

"These companies have made misrepresentations a cornerstone of their business," said Margaret Busse, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Commerce. "Companies like this are a blight on Utah's reputation as they erode trust in the economy. I am proud of the hard work of our Division of Consumer Protection and the Utah Attorney General's Office in holding these companies accountable."

The Utah Attorney General's Office works closely with the Utah Division of Consumer Protection to defend the rights of consumers.

Read the Findings of Fact here.