Shawn Merriman

Shawn Richard Merriman, born in 1963, is a former American investment adviser and lay leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He ran his scheme for more than fifteen years, roughly from 1994 to 2009. Following his conviction for operating a $20 million Ponzi scheme, which has been widely reported in the media as one of the significant examples of affinity fraud in the American West, he attracted the attention of media. Media outlets have referred to him as the "Mormon Madoff", a reference to financier Bernard Madoff. Merriman attracted investors through relationships within his religious and community circles. His story is a point of reference in studies of financial fraud, fiduciary duty, and community trust.

Background and early life

Shawn Merriman lived in Utah when he met Andrea Merriman at Brigham Young University in Provo. They married on August 5, 1989, and had four children. Both were members of the LDS Church. After their marriage, the couple relocated to Denver, Colorado where Shawn Merriman completed his master's in business. He reportedly pursued the degree to enhance his career, although it was not required for his profession.

Merriman began his career as an investment banker and earned income for his employment. By 1993, the couple had their first child and moved to a neighborhood in Aurora, Colorado. The firm operated from the Merrimans’ home, where Merriman converted the basement into a private office to maintain discretion.

Andrea Merriman later stated that, from an external perspective, the family’s life appeared financially stable and respected within the church. She reported that she had no reason to question her husband’s professional activities, as they appeared legitimate, and was not aware of the fraudulent operations conducted in his private office.

As his operation expanded, Merriman's method is cited as a key example of affinity fraud. Consequently, many of his investors were members of his local congregation or belonged to the broader Latter-day Saints community in Colorado and Utah, trusting him based on his reputation as a successful financial professional and church leader. defrauding investors of about $20 million. After that she faced an FBI investigation, but was later discharged. Andrea Merriman then divorced her husband.

Shawn Merriman was indicted in 2010 on multiple counts of mail fraud by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Colorado, under Title 18, Section 1341 of the U.S. Code. The S.E.C. later issued a permanent order barring him from working with investment advisers, brokers or dealers in the future.

Sentencing By the mid-1990s, Merriman began accruing money from private clients and investors through his company, Market Street Advisors, and other companies he owned. Customers were lured in with promises of executed trades and other ventures with promises of executed trades and consistent returns. However, the investment activities Merriman described in detail to his clients never actually existed and were fabricated. He later claimed he was not actually trading money and diverted funds from investors to his own personal expenses. To maintain the illusion, Merriman would send clients fabricated financial statements.

By 2009, he had taken in a significant number of investors and resulted in losses exceeding $20 million, all the while Merriman was still running the scheme. Later that year, Merriman took responsibility for one case of mail fraud and pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.

In September of 2010, the court sentenced him to 151 months in prison; three years of supervised release. He also owed money in restitution that amounted to $20,124,183.13 dollars. After the sentence was imposed, Merriman took issue with some of the findings of fact incorporated in the court's decision. He claimed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, that the assets he had given to the government before the sentence had been overlooked in the loss calculation and also contested the evidence. The court rejected his appeal, ruling that post-discovery asset returns do not alter the federal loss calculation. The conviction and sentence were subsequently affirmed.thumb Victims' compensation Marcia S. Krieger, the judge who approved the liquidation of Merriman's assets On September 14, 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Marcia S. Krieger, who oversaw the liquidation of Merriman’s assets, approved a court-supervised liquidation plan to compensate the victims of the fraud.

All of the following assets were owned by Shawn Merriman and purchased with money obtained through the fraud scheme:

Fine art collections, including 157 pieces of Old Masters work and 170 works of contemporary art; Additional art and collectibles, such as 43 framed works, 4 bronze busts, and an acrylic sculpture; Real estate holdings, including Merriman’s primary residence in Aurora, Colorado, and a property in Island Park, Idaho; Vehicles and conveyances, encompassing classic and collectible cars (such as a 1930 Lincoln, a silver Aston Martin, 1932 and 1936 Auburns, and a 1932 Ford Highboy), motorcycles, a boat, motor home, trailers, and a John Deere Bobcat; Financial accounts, including eight E*Trade securities accounts; Personal and recreational property, such as sports memorabilia, firearms, taxidermy, exercise equipment, arcade games, tools, safes, hunting paraphernalia, and a pitching machine.

The narration highlights his public image as a professional: he promised high and steady returns. Soon, however, the episode shows how the investors money were actually used by Merriman .

In the final segment, Keach recounts how the fraud ultimately collapsed. The episode notes that Shawn Merriman later pleads guilty. Similar cases

Merriman’s case is cited in discussions of financial ethics and fiduciary responsibility. It has been compared to other cases involving misuse of client trust and fraudulent concealment of financial information, such as lawsuits against Global E-trading LLC and the company Chargebacks911.