https://www.abc4.com/news/wasatch-front/4-men-including-2-utahns-sentenced-in-18m-global-investment-fraud-scheme/

Four men, including two from Utah, were sentenced after they defrauded over a dozen victims worldwide out of more than $18 million in an investment and money laundering scheme, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Kevin Griffith, 68, of Orem was sentenced to 12 years and six months in federal prison while Alexander Ituma, 57, of Lehi was sentenced to eight years and four months. John C. Nook, 55, of Fayetteville, Ark. and Brian Brittsan, 67, of Boise, Idaho were also sentenced in the scheme to 20 years and 10 years, respectively.

According to Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, the four “brazenly and repeatedly” lied to investors for nearly a decade, defrauding over $18 million through a “complex web” of bank accounts around the world.

Court documents show the four conspired in the scheme between 2013 and 2021 under the guise of an investment firm called “The Brittingham Group.” The firm told investors they had exclusive investment opportunities and deals involving the monetization of foreign bank guarantees. Investors were also promised outsized returns in a short time, which the four men “could not and did not” produce.

To hide their dealings, Nock and Brittsan told victims to send their money to bank accounts controlled by Griffith and Ituma, among others. They then created fake documents to send victims to make the investments seem legitimate, according to court documents. Once they had the money in hand, the co-conspirators laundered the money through several bank accounts worldwide.

All four were convicted in August 2023 of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, multiple counts of wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Nock was also convicted of money laundering for using victim funds to pay a prior unrelated debt.

“For years, the defendants’ blatant and egregious investment fraud scheme used false promises to bilk investors out of millions of dollars of their hard-earned money,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Christopher J. Altemus Jr. “IRS-CI is proud of their joint efforts with the Justice Department and the FBI to hold Nock, Brittsan, Griffith, and Ituma accountable for their greed.”