Matthew Morrison Bates, 42, of Lehi pleaded guilty Monday, Nov. 2, to running a Ponzi scheme that collected more than $60 million from hundreds of investors.
Bates entered his plea to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering at the Orrin G. Hatch United States Courthouse in Salt Lake City, the Daily Herald reported. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah had charged him on Sept. 30.
Federal prosecutors said the scheme ran from about May 2020 through June 2025. Bates and others falsely promised investors that his company, Hedgehog Investments LLC, would use short-term promissory notes to extend "bridge loans" to companies seeking financial help, according to the Daily Herald.
The company never made any bridge loans, prosecutors said. Instead, returns paid to investors came from money put in by newer investors, creating a false appearance of profit.
According to the felony charges, investors were promised returns ranging from 20% to 100% of their principal, KSL reported. Bates and Hedgehog Investments solicited investors through in-person meetings, phone calls, electronic communications, websites and social media, federal prosecutors said.
The scheme also relied on dozens of false statements to investors, including claims about a rigorous vetting process for potential investors, according to the charges.
In total, Bates received more than $60 million from hundreds of investors, the charges state.
Bates and Hedgehog Investments also face an ongoing state civil case in which a former investor has sued alleging securities fraud, according to court records cited by KSL.
U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah announced the guilty plea, Gephardt Daily reported. The FBI Salt Lake City Field Office and the Utah Division of Securities investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark E. Woolf, Tanner Zumwalt and Brian Williams are prosecuting.
Bates is scheduled to be sentenced at 11 a.m. on Jan. 12, 2027, at the Orrin G. Hatch United States Courthouse in Salt Lake City.
