Southwick goes directly to jail

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Ogden mayor supports financier at sentencing ... but nobody else does
SALT LAKE CITY -- Applause is rarely, if ever, heard in a courtroom, but a crowd of about 50 clapped Thursday after Ogden financier Val Southwick was sentenced to the maximum -- nine consecutive prison terms of 1 to 15 years each for fraud.

The outburst came after Southwick was handcuffed and led from the courtroom after an impassioned 21/2-hour sentencing hearing.

Fourteen victims of what investigators call Southwick's 17-year Ponzi scheme addressed 3rd District Judge Robin Reese about their losses from investing with Southwick.

He used money from new investors to pay earlier investors, maintaining the illusion of a profitable investment in land development until the scheme collapsed.

The charges Southwick pleaded guilty to in March listed 817 victims bilked of $142 million, a scheme law enforcement has called one of the largest ever in the state.

Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey, whose family had invested with Southwick, was the only person to speak in support of Southwick.

Some in the audience almost began hooting -- drawing an admonishment from the judge -- as Godfrey said " ... this is not an evil man."

Godfrey insisted that a murderer or rapist will have to be let out of the state prison to make room for Southwick. He also said a lengthy prison term will not bring any feeling of "vindication or satisfaction" to victims.

Godfrey cited the example of the capture 18 years later of the man who murdered his sister in California in 1988. "There was no vindication or happiness that he was caught."

Those in the torrent of calls for the maximum sentence for Southwick included Orem resident Brad Hatch, who said, "As far as sentencing, all I can say is, get a rope."

Hatch said his parents lost everything to Southwick. "They're going to die penniless."

Jay Christensen, of North Salt Lake, said Southwick didn't own the land he conned him into investing in.

"He has a personality disorder that's not going to change. He is a narcissistic person ... preoccupied with grandiose ideas. Consecutive prison terms will help him with this problem.'

"Twenty-five years would be a good start," said Kim Moore, of Ogden.

After Southwick's schemes collapsed, Moore said he talked to a Nevada real estate agent who had sold Southwick a 30-acre parcel. Southwick proceeded to take out eight more mortgages against the land.

"This goes back more than just 15 years or so," Moore said. "It's always been about Val Southwick."

Moore said he talked to some of Southwick's Ogden High School classmates and found he was known even then for his "self-adoration, self-aggrandizement" and had obscene nicknames for that reason.

"Some prison time will convince him he's not smarter than everyone else," said Ellen Williams, also of Ogden. "Val is a predator. He can't be helped by being on parole."

While Thursday's sentencing concluded the state's criminal case against Southwick, a federal lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission the same day in February as the criminal charges is still pending before U.S. District Judge Dee Benson.

The SEC action seeks to identify and liquidate all Southwick's assets, particularly several thousand acres he owns just outside Las Vegas.

Another $300 million owed by Southwick to institutional investors, such as banks and brokerage houses, is being handled through the SEC filings.

Southwick's defense attorney, Max Wheeler, noted that the federal court this week initiated proceedings to seize two Ogden homes Southwick owns. His son lives in one, and his wife lives in the other.

Wheeler asked Reese to delay the beginning of Southwick's prison time for 30 days so Southwick could try to avoid having his "wife and son put out on the street."

That request drew some brief jeers from the audience and an admonition from the judge.

In announcing sentence, Reese also ordered Southwick to pay restitution to all victims, an exact total to be based on the outcome of the federal proceedings.

He also denied the request to give Southwick 30 days before starting his prison term, ordering him handcuffed on the spot and taken into custody.

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