Utah businessman accepts plea deal in fraud schemes

A Utah County businessman has reached plea deals in two separate fraud schemes, including one in which he and a former county commissioner posed as Mormon officials to scam companies out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Deseret News reports Alan Dean McKee pleaded guilty Friday to a pattern of unlawful activity in connection with the case involving ex-commissioner Gary Jay Anderson, who has pleaded not guilty. Three counts of communications fraud were dropped as part of a McKee’s plea agreement.

McKee has also pleaded guilty to a theft charge for running a new scheme while he was out on bail in the first case.

Prosecutors say McKee sold the right to tear up railroad he didn’t own in 2015 using tricks similar to the previous case.

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Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com