Reported by Darby Sparks

A lawsuit against the Bank of Utah alleging they aided in a multimillion dollar Ponzi scheme has added a new name to the list.

The suit claims Vice President and Senior Trust Officer Jodi Buckner was directly responsible for aiding Stephen Swensen in his theft by not reporting her suspicions of fraud.

A new claim was filed in late March that accuses Buckner of admitting to not reporting her suspicions of fraud during a secret recording, where she allegedly illegally gave out protected information.

This happened after the Bank of Utah counter-sued Swensen’s former clients, claiming to not be liable for any financial loss due to a signed agreement.

“Who would have ever thought that this would be part of it,” said Cortney Hall, family member of one of Swensen’s former clients, referring to the Bank of Utah’s lawsuit.

Hall said her parents were shocked to find that their self-directed IRA accounts with the Bank of Utah were used by Swensen as a means for stealing funds.

“You almost feel, like, what is the bigger lesson out of all this?” Hall asked.

Now, two years after the discovery that their retirement savings were drained, Hall said her father has passed away and her mother has had to take a job to support herself.

“My mom has been through so much, and I honestly get choked up thinking about how much strength she’s had to go through this,” Hall said.

Most of Swensen’s clients were elderly retirees.

According to a lawsuit filed in 2023 on their behalf, Swensen convinced his former clients to open self-directed IRA accounts with the Bank of Utah and sign control over.

Read full report: https://kmyu.tv/news/local/bank-of-utah-executive-named-in-lawsuit-alleging-aid-in-multimillion-dollar-ponzi-scheme-retirement-fraud-stephen-swensen