Ex-bishop, Shawn Merriman, accused of running Ponzi scheme

A former Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bishop, allegedly admitted to operating a Ponzi scheme from his home in Denver, Colorado for the last fifteen years.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against unlicensed broker Shawn Merriman earlier this week in U.S. District Court in Denver.

It is alleged that the former bishop, who collected up to $20 million from investors in several states to support his extravagant lifestyle, started an investment fund in 1995 that employed an aggressive strategy, but after losing $400,000, he started other funds to hide his losses and cover withdrawal requests.

This week, authorities froze Merriman’s bank accounts, seized his Aston Martin, 1932 Ford Highboy, guns, Rembrandt’s 1963 “Descent From the Cross: The Second Plate”, two works by Picasso, one home in Aurora and two properties in Idaho.

It is alleged that Merriman, who is also a former stockbroker, convinced thirty-eight groups from Colorado, Minnesota and Utah, to invest in his company by showing them a single-page document that promised them annual returns of 7 to 20 percent.

In court documents that was filed by the SEC, they claimed that Merriman confessed to criminal authorities on March 18, 2009, of engaging in a Ponzi scheme and he had about $7 million left in assets, mostly art investments.

In addition to his freezing his personal bank accounts, authorities are moving to freeze banks accounts for companies that were set up by the former bishop, including Market Street Advisors, Mountain Springs Partners, and Impressions Everlasting, which is a company for to invest in art.

Authorities said neither Merriman nor his companies were licensed brokers.