Prosecutors charged Republican Rep. Trevor Lee with four felonies Monday, accusing him of faking documents and lying about his income to get a $1 million loan. Lee resigned from the Utah Legislature the same day.
According to charging documents, the Utah Attorney General's Office says Lee used the false information to secure a cash-out refinance on his home, which put about $317,000 in cash in his pocket.
Prosecutors point to three misrepresentations in the loan application.
The first was an employment agreement from Enevive, a Draper water research company, showing a $168,000 annual salary. Prosecutors say Lee signed the CEO's name on it himself.
The second was his reported income. Lee claimed he earned about $165,000 a year from the company. His W-2 shows he made $55,000.
The third was a letter from a different water company, Blue Logic, offering him a full-time sales director job paying $190,000 a year. That company says Lee was only a contractor, and he asked for the letter to help him get the loan. He never accepted the job.
Lee also signed the lender's standard certifications that the information he provided was true. He signed an FBI mortgage fraud warning disclosure as well.
Investigators interviewed Lee in his Capitol Hill office on August 12. At first Lee said the documents were legitimate, but later he allegedly admitted he had signed the employment contract from Enevive himself.
The charges follow accusations two Utah business executives made against Lee in April. Jason Walton, CEO of Moxie Pest Control, said Lee committed check fraud more than a decade ago while working for the company in North Carolina. Trent Spafford, Enevive's CEO, said Lee asked for $93,000 in commission advances. According to Spafford, Lee offered to use his position in the Legislature to help Enevive win a federal contract and said he would pay off the debt with the commission from that deal.
Lee faces two second-degree felonies, each punishable by one to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The two third-degree felonies each carry up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
Davis County Republican delegates will now choose someone to serve the last few months of Lee's term. The likely pick is Bob Stevenson, who beat Lee for the GOP nomination in the June primary.
Lee's mother, Susan, is the Republican nominee for Davis County Commissioner Seat B.
