Salt Lake City, UT: The United States Department of Justice reported that four individuals, two of whom were from Utah, were imprisoned for their roles in an investment and money laundering operation that bilked over twelve people across the globe of over $18 million.
Sentenced to a total of twelve years and six months in federal prison, Orem resident Kevin Griffith,68, and Lehi resident Alexander Ituma,57, received terms of eight years and four months. Additionally, the conspiracy resulted in the sentencing of John C. Nook, 55, of Fayetteville, Ark., and Brian Brittsan, 67, of Boise, Idaho, to 20 and 10 years, respectively.
Four individuals “brazenly and repeatedly” bilked investors out of more than $18 million via a “complex web” of offshore accounts, asserts Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri. This deceit persisted for nearly a decade.
The four individuals allegedly plotted their scam from 2013 to 2021 while posing as an investment firm named “The Brittingham Group,” according to court records. Investors were led to believe that the company had exclusive access to projects involving the monetization of foreign bank guarantees and other investment opportunities. Also, the four men “could not and did not” deliver on the huge returns that the investors were promised so quickly.
In order to conceal their activities, Nock and Brittsan instructed their victims to transfer funds to bank accounts held by several individuals, including Griffith and Ituma. Court records show that the perpetrators subsequently fabricated paperwork to send to their victims in order to legitimize the investments. When the conspirators finally got their hands on the cash, they began to launder it through a web of international bank accounts.
Convictions for conspiracy to commit money laundering, numerous counts of wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit conspiracy were handed down to all four in August 2023. The use of victim cash to settle an unrelated debt led to Nock’s conviction for money laundering.
“The defendants’ investment fraud scheme used false promises to bilk investors out of millions of dollars of their hard-earned money for years,” stated Christopher J. Altemus Jr., Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation. “IRS-CI takes great pride in their collaborative endeavors with the Justice Department and the FBI to ensure that Nock, Brittsan, Griffith, and Ituma are held responsible for their avarice.”